///////////////////"Entering into the pain ends suffering. I meet resistance with non-resistance."
///////////////WKR SCTN WAD NEED TO BE BC MR THN SLF
///////////////FTHR SKN CA CRSS
How to Check Yourself Out for Signs of Skin Cancer
Sure, you know that you should check your body for moles and other signs of skin cancer. But what exactly are you supposed to look for and how?
By Diana Rodriguez
Medically reviewed by Niya Jones, MD, MPH
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You see your skin every day, but how closely do you really look at it? Do you examine it regularly for suspicious-looking body moles or facial moles, or for any unusual or changing patches of skin? If you don't already check your skin for changes, the considered advice of skin cancer experts is start today.
Facial Moles and Body Moles: Why a Skin Examination Is Important
Your doctor should check each year to look for any of the warning signs of skin cancer. But part of a healthy skin care regimen should also include a monthly self-examination. A regular and thorough examination can allow you to spot any pre-cancerous or cancerous growths at an early stage. And the sooner you catch skin cancer, the better your odds of treating it successfully.
If you don’t make a habit of checking your skin because you think skin cancer can't happen to you, think again. The most common type of cancer is skin cancer, and the number of people affected rises each year.
How to Check Your Skin for Facial Moles and Body Moles
Once a month, stand in a brightly lit room in front of a full-length mirror and look closely at your skin. (You can also ask your partner to check for facial and body moles with you so that you can scan each other’s bodies.)
Start with the front of your body. Examine your face, ears, neck, and throat.
Inspect your chest (women should lift up their breasts and check the undersides). Look at the armpits, the tops and bottoms of the arms, and the hands and fingers. Don't forget to check fingernails and the skin between your fingers.
Sit on a chair to examine the tops of your thighs, the front of your legs, and your feet. Don't forget the toenails and the skin between your toes.
Using a hand mirror, start at the bottom and check the back of your body. Inspect the soles of your feet, the backs of your legs and thighs, genitals, and buttocks.
Examine your upper and lower back, shoulders, and the back of your neck.
Last, don't forget your hairline and scalp. A hairbrush or hair dryer can help move hair so that you can see every area of your scalp.
Body Moles and Skin Cancer: What to Look For
To spot the warning signs of skin cancer, it's important to be able to tell the difference between a normal, healthy mole and a potentially cancerous facial mole or body mole. You're checking your skin for three main types of skin cancer: basal cell, squamous cell, and melanoma.
Basal cell carcinomas may be flat or slightly raised, have a reddish or pink tint, and often appear shiny. This type of skin cancer is usually found on the face, neck, hands or arms.
Squamous cell carcinomas look like scaly, crusty bumps in the skin. They may also start out as a smooth patch of red skin.
Body moles or facial moles that indicate melanoma may be asymmetrical, have jagged edges, contain several colors, and often tend to be larger than a pencil eraser. You may also notice bleeding after minor irritation of these moles. “A healthy mole is uniform in color and symmetric, while an atypical mole is multi-colored, rapidly growing, and it bleeds,” says Mary C. Martini, MD, director of the Pigmented Lesion and Melanoma Clinic at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
If you notice any changes in your skin or in any body or facial moles, tell your doctor and promptly schedule a skin examination.
Once you've gotten into the habit of checking each month, it will be easy to spot any changes and potential warning signs of skin cancer. Before you know it, you'll be an expert on your skin, and will be able to consult your doctor as soon as you find any suspicious facial moles or body moles.
Last Updated: 12/21/2008
////////////////////Smile, breathe, and go slowly"
Thich Nhat Hanh
/////////////////Nothing is permanent in this wicked world—not even our troubles."
Charlie Chaplin
///////////////////"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are."
Chinese proverb
////////////////"For fast-acting relief, try slowing down."
Lily Tomlin
////////////////There is more to life than increasing its speed."
Mahatma Gandhi
///////////////////How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward."
Spanish proverb
///////////////////Bookstores What can I say? I love to read - I read about ten books a month for my own enjoyment and probably five more for The Simple Dollar and other professional purposes. The smell and feel and sight of a new book is like manna to me. I usually resist most of my impulses by arguing to myself that I can get those books at the library or off of PaperBackSwap, but it’s definitely a struggle - one I don’t always win.
////////////////void them entirely. The easiest way not to be tempted is to simply not visit these stores at all. This works to a certain extent. For years, I had a routine of going to a bookstore each Tuesday (to check out the new releases) and each Friday (to “celebrate” the end of a workweek). This routine usually meant that I would wind up buying a book or two at each visit, which could easily add up to $40 a week.
By simply breaking that routine, it was easy to see a tremendous amount of financial benefit - as much as $2,000 per year. While I still do visit bookstores on occasion, they’re no longer part of any sort of routine. This makes the individual visits much more enjoying, since they’re more infrequent and not based on any sort of schedule.
Take notes. If you visit a store, fall in love with lots of items, and are tempted to buy, stop. Pull out a notepad and write down all of the things that are tempting you. List the books, food ideas, clothing, games, or other items that are really intriguing you.
This serves two purposes. First, you can take the list home and do further research on the item(s) and some comparison shopping. Second, it allows you to utilize the “thirty day rule,” where you agree not to buy the item for thirty days and then re-evaluate at the end of the period whether or not you actually want the item.
//////////////////////Use the ten second rule. Sometimes, on an impulsive whim, you’ll pick up an item and make the split-second decision to buy it. As you head to the cashier, stop for ten seconds and ask yourself if you really need this item after all, or if you couldn’t get a better deal on it elsewhere.
For me, this works quite well to at least slow impulse buys. I’ll usually put the item back and add it to my list (see the earlier tip). It doesn’t necessarily mean that I won’t end up with the item in the future, but it will be bought with a rational, not an impulsive, mind.
/////////////////////Shortcut To DEATH
Zebra crossings, medians, guard rails — nothing can prevent Kolkata pedestrians from breaking rules & straying on roads
Jayanta Gupta | TNN
Aformer additional commissioner of Kolkata Police narrates this interesting anecdote whenever he is asked to speak on the city’s traffic situation. “I was taking around a dignitary who was on his first visit to Kolkata. After a while, he said he was amazed to see so many ‘traffic policemen’ on
the streets. I did not understand. He then explained that he was talking about all the people who would simply walk across the street without a care in the world, raising their palms at oncoming vehicles, expecting them to stop.”
Kolkata is a jaywalker’s paradise. At any hour of the day, on any street, through thin or heavy traffic you would see them darting across the road, or simply strolling across. Teenagers are as guilty as grandmas, woman with children in tow and smartly dressed office executives. You would think it was a part of Kolkata’s culture. A dangerous one.
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