“See something, say something” doesn’t only apply to national security. As one painting contractor learned, it can also apply to personal health issues on the jobsite. That’s what happened when a homeowner noticed a mole on the neck of a painter in his home. The homeowner alerted the painter and urged him to have it checked.

Australian homeowner Jay Allen just happened to have a background in skin cancer prevention. So when his painter initially dismissed Allen’s advice to have the mole checked, he went a step farther – he took a photo of the mole, consulted an expert, and arranged an appointment at a local clinic for the painter.

Allen is a melanoma survivor and founder of the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation, so he knew of what he spoke. Turns out the mole was a melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. Fortunately, the painter had the melanoma and resulting skin cancer successfully removed.

We hear more and more of these stories, about informed bystanders alerting people to potential health concerns. For example, a spectator at a hockey game reached out to the Vancouver Canucks to notify their equipment manager about an irregular mole that turned out to be cancer. And a viewer contacted HGTV about a lump on a TV personality’s throat that turned out to be thyroid cancer.

And even APC Publisher Andrew Dwyer had a similar experience. An acquaintance at a dinner party told him the bump on his temple could be a carcinoma and urged him to have it checked. Turns out it was a basal cell carcinoma, and Dwyer had it successfully removed.

So indeed, if you see something, say something. And when it comes to your health, don’t disregard a kind person’s word of warning. People are encouraged to discuss skin cancers at their annual physical and to determine when to begin regularly seeing a dermatologist. And while we’re on the topic, the American Cancer Society recommends the following screenings:
Testicular Cancer: Monthly self-exam after puberty
Cervical Cancer: Age 25
Breast, Colorectal and Prostate Cancer (for Black Men): Age 45
Prostate Cancer (for all men): Age 50