John Collison is a lip cancer patient. It took a magazine article about skin cancer to wake John up to the fact he had something more than just an ulcer on his lip. For John, he was certain he had some form of cancer on his lip.

John had never smoked, but as an avid outdoorsman, he did spend a lot of time in the sun, putting him at risk squamous cell carcinoma, which often shows up on the lips.

Michele Williams, Dentist, Oral Medicine at the BC Cancer Agency, says, "the greatest risk factor for it is sun exposure over the years. So, it may be cumulative over lifetime by the time you get this condition, it's too late to make that change."

The lesion not only looked suspicious, it tested positive using early detection techniques  

This type of cancer is much more common in men than women. One of the reasons could be this...

Dr. Jason Rivers, Dermatologist, says, "lipstick, itself, has an ability to block some of the UV that hits the skin."

But the best form of protection is lip balm with an spf factor of at least 15.

John now never goes anywhere without his lip balm, hat and sunscreen. Every few months, he's also back at the BC Cancer Agency for checkups.Just in case the cancer returns. 

Seek help if you have any redness, scaling or an ulcer on your lip that doesn't heal for more than a month. This type of skin cancer also occurs on the ears, cheeks, hands and legs, anywhere that's frequently exposed to the sun. And while not as dangerous as melanoma, it can spread to the lymph nodes and internal organs. So watch you sun exposure, particularly during the peak hours of between 11 and 3, even on cloudy days. If you do have any questions about a mole or mark, you can go to a free skin screening clinic this sunday at the vancouver aquatic centre. Dermatologists will be there as part of sun awareness week.

Thursday June 1, 2006