Spots on leopards are good. Spots on your feet aren’t
In the past, I have written about checking your toe nails for skin cancer.But it is time to take it a step further.
I want you to look at your whole foot. Yes, I want you to grab a hand mirror and take a good look at your feet. Have you ever taken a good look at the bottom of your feet? Well, now is the time. Take your time – there is no hurry here. Take a good look. Move those toes around and look at the skin between the toes.
Do you see anything unexpected? Is the skin drier than you thought? Any skin cracks or sores? Do you see any dark spots?
Red or purple spots
That is the biggie. Those dark spots might be a sign that something could be wrong. If the spot is more red or purple, it could be purpura which is a form of internal bleeding. Purpura is a disease indicating low levels of platelets in your blood. Platelets are responsible for blood clotting. People with this condition tend to bruise and suffer from internal bleeding. This disease has a sudden onset and can affect people at all ages but it does seem to affect people over the age of 60. Also, women seem to suffer from it more often than men.
Brown or black spots
If the spot is brown or black it is possible that you have developed one of the forms of skin cancer. There are three forms of skin cancer. Look for Basil cell carcinoma on the sun exposed area of the foot. It is the least aggressive form of skin cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common form of cancer on the foot. This form of skin cancer is usually confined to the skin and does not spread. BUT IT CAN. Malignant melanoma is one of the deadliest skin cancers and is particularly deadly when found on the feet.
Skin cancer on feet can be deadly
Yes, skin cancer on your feet can be deadly. Seems odd, right? It is the most deadly because it is often not found until it has spread. Why? People usually don’t check their feet for cancer. For this reason, the cancer can grow before you even know it is there. None of the forms of cancer found on the foot are painful. You need to look to find them.
Which leads us back to why I have asked you to check your feet.
If you see anything, please call your friendly local podiatrist immediately and get your feet checked. This is not the time to delay. It is much better to find out that it is not skin cancer than to wonder and let a cancer spread.
If when you are checking, you don’t see anything, that is great! Mark your calendar and check again next month. As you now know, the checks take just a minute or two and they could save your life.
In the meantime, if you did notice that the skin is dry, you can put a little moisturizer on them. Dry skin on your feet makes it easier for fungal infections to find their way into compromised skin. So give those feet a drink. If you give them a little moisture each night, when you check next month, they should look much better!
Your Pal,
The Foot Blogger Chick
Just as a reminder, on Sunday it is time to change your clocks!
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