Here is an important reminder:

With the ozone layer becoming thinner, and longer hotter summers, the chances of developing a malignant melanoma are on the increase.

My wife had a mole on her face, and this summer she said "it didn't feel right": three appointments at the Dr's and each time she was reassured everything was ok. Then the mole started to bleed. Well to cut a long story short, the mole was malignant (early stage) and it was removed last month. She has one more op to go, to remove more skin from the mole site as a preventative measure, and a lymph node removal. This will be examined to ensure the cancer has not spread.

Simple steps can reduce your chances of developing a malignant melanoma - using high factor sun screen which blocks UVA and UVB on exposed skin, avoiding getting sunburnt, and wearing sun protective clothing will all help.

Children especially should be protected from the sun's harmful rays, thus avoiding skin problems that may develop years later.

Any moles that change shape, colour, or bleed/weep should be checked out at once, also any new moles that appear that are not symmetrical in shape.

When covering up in the sun, clothes made out of cheesecloth and similar fabrics give little or no protection, the best protection can be gained from close woven material such as in t-shirts. Wide brimmed hats are also advisable. Specially designed clothes are available, the best I have found are on the American and Australian market.

I have now purchased some protective clothing from USA, as I found the UK equivalent sites to be rather lacking, as in selling short sleeved protective shirts? Not much cover on the arms there!.

There are definite signs that a mole is suspicious and should be seen by a doctor. If you have a mole that is:

• Getting bigger
• Changing shape, particularly getting an irregular edge
• Changing colour - getting darker,becoming patchy or multi-shaded
• Itching or painful
• Bleeding or becoming crusty
• Looks inflamed