An App Found Her Skin Cancer

Most of us could probably be better about getting regular skin cancer check ups at the dermatologist. But Natalie Killian actually went like she was supposed to and her doc said a suspicious mole was fine, but it actually wasn’t.

The 39-year-old woman from the U.K. visited her dermatologist to have a strange-looking pimple on her chest checked out after first downloading the app SkinVision to take a photo of the bump. The app uses “clinically-proven technology” to assess risk from a photo and Killian’s was considered medium risk, so she followed up with her doctor, who said it was nothing to worry about and sent her home.

But later that year, the team at SkinVision notified Killian to get that spot re-checked. She ignored the email at first, because she assumed her dermatologist knew better than an app, but after she started having “sharp, needle-like pains,” she decided to get a second opinion.

The new doctor gave Killian an urgent two-week cancer referral and the documentation she had from using the app helped because she could show the changes she’s seen in it. She was diagnosed with a basal cell carcinoma and after a biopsy, it was confirmed to be “infiltrating” - which means it can penetrate deeper and be tougher to treat. Thankfully Killian had the lesion surgically removed and she plans to be more vigilant in the future.

Now this might be worth the extra storage in your phone! Tell us what you think @theMRLshow!