This lifesaving app could help detect signs of skin cancer

Worth the download.

Us Irish people see the sun and straight away, we strip down to nothing and try and soak in as much sun as we can before it disappears again for another 247 days. However, it is very important to make sure your skin is protected because the rays from the sun can be extremely dangerous. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Ireland. Just over 10,000 new cases were diagnosed in this country in 2013 and most of these cases were caused by UV rays from the sun. This UK woman discovered she had a cancerous mole on her ankle via a smartphone app called SkinVision and this discovery saved her life. According to the Independent, she read about it in a magazine and downloaded it for free to scan moles on her arms and legs. They all were fine except one on the back of her ankle which showed up as a 'red warning' on the app and it advised her to get immediate medical attention. It turned out that she had skin cancer and in fact, had a 'fist-sized tumour' behind the mole. The app uses fractal geometry, looking for patterns in the outlines and shapes of moles which make them more likely to be malignant. Moles are classed by the app as high, medium or low risk.