Since last years drama with not one, but two Cancer scares, I’ve become a lot more conscious of all the things I should be doing to keep anything scary and Cancer-like at bay, with a very good example of this being getting my moles checked. I have a lot of moles, all over my body, in all shapes and sizes. Some are flat, some are raised, some are huge and lumpy and scary looking which are the ones I was keen to investigate. I made an appointment at the Cadogan Clinic where you can find a pretty comprehensive mole mapping service that deals with both the immediate and the long-term, so it’s a great investment treatment.
The clinic is located in a very easily accessible part of Chelsea, just a few minutes walk from Sloane Square and with great parking all around. The mole mapping consists of two parts, with the first part involving a very thorough examination from a Doctor. I was booked in with Dr Alexis Granite who was absolutely lovely and very good at putting my mind at ease. Obviously you are pretty much naked, but it’s done in stages so you’re not just standing there starkers whilst a stranger carefully inspects every inch of you! Dr Granite goes around your entire body with a lit magnifying glass to have a look at each and every mole, from the ones on your scalp, to the ones on your toes, and every single other one in between. As I said, I was most concerned about my big lumpy moles which are black and bumpy (sound lovely, don’t they?) but Dr Granite actually said these are the sort of moles that tend to be the least problematic, and the ones to be more worried about are flat ones that change shape, size and colour. It was very reassuring and great to now know what to look for.
The second phase of the mole mapping involved having all my body photographed and the images stored so that comparisons can be made every year to see if there are any changes. This is what all the images are from and the process involves standing in your underwear in certain positions whilst a machine with a camera attached quickly photographs all your skin. It takes around 20 minutes, and if Dr Granite had mentioned any particular moles that we should keep an eye on then special attention would’ve been given to these during the mapping, but thankfully there weren’t any. However, for the benefit of the review, the lovely nurse (who’s name I’ve forgotten because I am clearly RUBBISH) allowed me to have a closer look at the one of my moles and check out how the machine analyses it to see if it’s a risk. These ‘risk’ moles are then photographed a year (or more regularly, if really risky) from now to see if any changes have occurred, and the machine can assess the images side-by-side. As you can see, it’s very thorough and carefully documented, making it a very reassuring experience all-round. The full body mole mapping is £125, whilst the consultation and mole-mapping costs from £250. All the info can be found at the Cadogan Clinic site here – link.
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