How Often Should Your Parents Get Their Skin Checked?

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, which makes it an excellent time to talk about skin cancer. How often are your parents asking about the sunspots and moles on their bodies? Have they had them mapped and checked yearly for changes? They need to.

Their doctors may not check their skin as well as it needs to be checked. During an annual physical, a doctor runs a lot of tests and checks the heart, eyes, ears, and lungs. Time spent looking at moles isn’t always the top priority.

Instead, your parents should push for a referral to a dermatologist. It’s important to have the skin checked carefully, looking for signs of sun damage and moles that could be suspicious. Meanwhile, they also need to check their skin regularly. Here are the things they’re looking for.

Check Monthly

Monthly self-checks of their skin are essential. They want to look for growths that are increasing in size and seem transparent, iridescent, black, tan, or splotches of different colors. Uneven edges are another thing to look for.

Check the sizes of any moles. If they’re getting larger, they need to be checked by a dermatologist. If any moles are bigger than the head of a pencil eraser, they require closer inspection.

If your parents have any crusty lesions that don’t heal, it can be a sign of skin cancer. They want to watch for sores and lesions that hurt, itch, or keep scabbing over and never get better.

Look Everywhere

When your parents are looking at their skin for signs of skin cancer, they need to look everywhere. It may help them to have you help out. They want to look at their scalp for growths on the head. They want to look inside the mouth, under the eyelids, and in and behind the ears.

Cancerous skin growths can grow under the finger or toenails. They can form nearer the bikini line and the groin. While it may not seem logical to have skin cancers grow in spots that don’t see the sun, it’s possible and needs to be checked.

Your parents don’t drive after their last eye exam. All of these appointments with doctors and specialists are impacting your schedule. Is there a better way?

Ask a local home care agency’s representative about transportation and companionship services. A professional caregiver can drive your parents to appointments, wait for them, and drive them home. During that appointment, the caregiver is there for moral support.

After the appointment, the home care aide can help your parents run errands, take them out for a relaxing lunch, or find something fun to do at a local museum or park. Call to learn more about prices and schedules.

If you or an aging loved-one is considering home care in Elk Grove, CA please contact the caring staff at Aging Assistant today. (916) 897-4752