Mr. Chan's Clinic

If you are concerned about skin cancer, taking care of your own and your family’s skin day to day, all year long, is one of the most important steps you can take. Exposure to sunlight, or to be more specific, the sun’s UV rays, is one of the main causes of skin cancer. Contrary to popular belief, the sun emits UV rays all year round and even on cloudy, overcast days (and yes, here in Ireland too), skin is exposed to them. These rays penetrate the skin and can trigger reactions that lead to various forms of skin cancer. Being sun smart is one of our best defences against the disease.

Does your lifestyle put you at a greater risk of developing skin cancer? It’s not a question we often ask ourselves, but it is an important one – and if you spend a lot of time outdoors the answer might be yes. In particular, if you have a job that requires you spend a lot of time working outside, you need to be vigilant about protecting your skin from UV rays. Ireland has a large farming industry and farmers – and their families - spend a lot of time outside, all year round. It is very important to consider skin health if you work in this industry.

Eddie, 52, from County Wicklow, went to his GP when he developed an open wound on his lip. The lesion wouldn’t heal so Eddie consulted his doctor, who gave him a referral letter for a consultant plastic surgeon. “My wife went on the Internet and looked up reviews and decided that Mr Chan sounded ideal for my needs,” Eddie explains.

Being sun aware is a year-round job as the sun’s UV rays are present and have an effect in all four seasons. This means that even on overcast days in the Irish climate skin is being affected by UV rays. Some sun exposure is important for vitamin D levels. However, it is also true that sun exposure is the main cause of skin cancer so we need to be mindful of that throughout the year.

While skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in Ireland, there is much you can do to reduce your and your family’s chances of developing it. You can see our introduction to skin cancer and what you need to know here, but the most important thing to remember is that many forms of skin cancer are very treatable and early detection, combined with improved medical care, means the outlook is much more positive than it used to be. Similarly, where surgery is required, advances in plastic surgery mean that the procedures can be carried out with the best visible results.