Worried about a mole on his back, Michael Chase came to us after reading an article about skin cancer and checks at Medcare in the local paper. He is very glad he did.

This is his story…

“It started with a small mole-come-spot on my back by my left shoulder, which I kept scratching and it was always bleeding. I’d had a stroke some years earlier and the nervous system does sometimes cause itching in people who have had a stroke, so I thought that was what it was.

Then a nurse friend was at our house having a cup of tea. My wife Jackie showed her the spot and asked her what she thought of it. She said I’d better get it looked at a bit quick.

Luckily we had just seen an article in the paper about skin cancer and checks at Medcare so we made an appointment with Medcare’s Dr Hussain.

She took one look and said ‘that has to come out’. Just three days later she did the minor surgery in her clinic in Benijofar. She also took out a second mole to be on the safe side. She had to go down quite deep and I needed 12 stitches. She sent it for testing and it was diagnosed as basal cell cancer.

It was quite a shock, especially for Jackie as her first husband died of skin cancer when he was only 46. He had it on the ball of his foot but ignored it, not realising how serious it was. By the time it was diagnosed the cancer had spread and it was too late.

According to the doctor I probably did the damage when I was 18 or 19. I used to come over to Spain on holiday and spend hours lying in the sun getting burnt as I tried to get a dark tan. All these years later the cancer developed.

I was very impressed with Dr Hussain and how she dealt with it. Had it not been for her I would have been in serious bother.

At first I went back for checks every three months, then every six and now I go once a year.

Because of my experience at Medcare my wife and I decided we should have the Well Man and Well Woman health check.

Dr Hussain found another problem for me – I had an enlarged prostate. It is now being successfully treated with tablets, but again had it not been spotted in that check it could have become serious.”

Medcare offers mole/skin cancer checks for 35 euros. Contact us to make an appointment on 966 860 258 or email doctors@medcarespain.com