While summer means fun in the sun for many, people should make sure they have adequate protection against the sun’s ray and watch out for unusual moles or skin growths that may be signs of the onset of skin cancer, doctors said.
Physicians cited the case of a 35-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), who felt a small itchy lump at the back of his head last year. Chang took little notice of the lump, taking care only to apply some medicinal lotion whenever it bled after repeated scratching.
However, his family became concerned when the lump turned black, and urged him to seek medical help. A biopsy revealed that it was melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
People should be alert to unusual skin growths, especially in areas that are not normally exposed to sunlight, and take note if a mole swells within a short period, doctors said.
They added that these growths could be signs of melanoma, and if not treated immediately, could be fatal.
Skin cancer ranked eighth in the Health Promotion Administration’s top 10 cancer list released in April, based on the nation’s cancer statistics from 2011.
Taiwanese Dermatological Association president Yang Chih-hsun (楊志勛) advised the public to check for five signs that a mole or lesion could be cancerous: It is asymmetric, has irregular borders, varies in color, is larger than 6mm in diameter and is growing at an unusual pace and if prone to bleeding.
“Melanoma can spread to other places. When in doubt, go see a skin cancer specialist. Early detection and treatment raises the chances of survival to 80 percent,” Yang said.
“In Taiwan, about 30 percent of patients only found out they had skin cancer when it was already in the late stage. By then, surgery, chemo or radiation therapy and other treatments can only have a limited effect. Late-stage skin cancer means they only have a few more months to live,” he said.
Yang said that about 60 percent of melanoma cases in Taiwan are found on skin areas not normally exposed to the sun, such as the palm of the hand or soles of the feet.
“Some melanoma initially look like a black spot of tar stuck to the skin. We have found many melanoma growths on the feet, especially for old farmers. It is likely due to their habit of going barefoot, sustaining cuts or injuries [at work] and exposure to herbicides, pesticides and other agriculture chemicals,” he said.
Chu Chia-yu (朱家瑜), an attending physician at National Taiwan University Hospital’s dermatology department, said about 200 new cases of skin cancer are detected each year in Taiwan.
“About 10 to 20 percent [of the cases] are due to a mutation of the BRAF gene, which causes the skin cell containing the melanin pigment to grow out of control, thus leading to cancer,” Chu said.
For those with the BRAF gene mutation, Chu said their chances of survival could be extended from nine to 13 months by taking a new oral medication, along with chemo or radiation therapy.
“Its relapse-free period can be lengthened from one-and-a-half months to nearly seven months. However, this new oral medication is quite expensive. It costs more than NT$300,000 a month,” he said.
Since prolonged exposure to the sun is one of the main causes of skin cancer, people should be careful to apply sunscreen especially during the summer months, he said.
However, most people seem to think that sunscreen lotions with a high UV protection index is the way to go.
“Whether it has SPF 20 or SPF 100, it loses its effectiveness after about three hours. As such, people should reapply sunscreen every three hours,” Chu said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard