VIDEO: A reminder about skin cancer from an expert and a survivor

People have a lot to worry about lately. Unfortunately, the risks posed by skin cancer don't stand aside when we're in a worldwide pandemic. Kelowna's most vocal expert says May is a great time for a reminder. And what better day to check in with local skin cancer expert Dr. Ben Wiese than Melanoma Monday.

"The crazy thing about skin cancer is it doesn't wait for COVID-19, said Dr. Wiese at the Kelowna Skin Cancer Clinic. "You always need to be aware of your risk and know your skin."

Knowing your skin means you can notice changes and act on them if they happen. "If there's something that's new or changing or something that's suspicious," he said, "it needs to be checked."

Wiese said the pandemic may actually increase exposure to the sun, which comes with risks. "Most of us are also outside now," said Wiese. "We can't really go anywhere and the emphasis is really on protecting as much as you can."

Bruce Merrifield has had a few brushes with skin cancer and showed us the scars to prove it. "Prevention is way easier than cure," he said. "Unfortunately too many of us leave it too long and then it becomes stage four and it goes into our lymph system and spreads."

Things never got that bad for Merrifield, but he came very close. "I came in at 10 o'clock on a Monday morning to see him for the first time and by 4 o'clock in the afternoon he was slicing and dicing and cut out the melanomas and I feel it was just in the nick of time."

Wiese agrees early diagnosis is extremely important. "When I make a diagnosis of that melanoma when it's still a very young, thin melanoma, we surgically remove it and it's cured," he said. "Compared to a thick melanoma where immediately this means invasive surgeries and then, of course, we have to think about adjuvant immunotherapy and different types of treatment that is difficult to tolerate."

The parting message from Wiese.

"Be mindful of your skin."