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25th March 2025
03:49pm GMT
Comedian Katherine Ryan is raising awareness about skin cancer after being diagnosed for the second time.
She announced the news on her Telling Everybody Everything podcast after previously revealing she was getting a mole removed.
Her doctor told her the mole was not cancerous, which was the news she wanted to hear.
However, Ryan said the mole kept changing.
This pushed her to ask for further testing, and the results confirmed it was melanoma.
Further testing confirmed that the mole needed further attention.
Ryan wondered, ‘What could have happened if I hadn’t been my own advocate?’.
“If I hadn’t pushed, if I had taken that good answer the first time and walked away then I would have had melanoma just growing and spreading in my arm and I would say ‘oh no the doctor says it’s fine, it’s fine’ and god knows how far that would have gone,” she said.
According to medical experts, there are three major types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma.
The key signs of basal cell carcinoma appear as a pearly or waxy bump, a flat, flesh-colored, or brown scar-like lesion.
You may also notice a bleeding or scabbing sore that heals and returns.
Basal cell carcinoma usually occurs in sun-exposed areas of your body, such as your neck or face.
Squamous cell carcinoma typically occurs on the sun-exposed areas of your body, like your ears, hands, and face.
According to MayoClinic:
"People with darker skin are more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma on areas that aren't often exposed to the sun."
The key symptoms include a firm, red nodule and a flat lesion with a scaly, crusted surface.
Melanoma can develop anywhere on your body.
In women, this cancer most often develops on the lower legs, but it can develop on skin that hasn't been exposed to the sun.
The main signs of melanoma include:
A large brownish spot with darker speckles
A mole that changes in color, size, or feel or that bleeds
Dark lesions on your palms, soles, fingertips or toes, or on mucous membranes lining your mouth, nose, vagina or anus
A small lesion with an irregular border and portions that appear red, pink, white, blue, or blue-black
A painful lesion that itches or burns
If you are ever concerned about skin cancer signs, then you should contact your GP immediately.
