Complete the text using one word only for each of the blank spaces:



Sun and Skin

The warm and sunny start to this May has allowed many of us to enjoy time outdoors in the good
weather.

But ……………………… is a downside to enjoying the sun. Spend too much ……………………… in it and you risk
……………………… your skin and ……………………… skin cancer – the ……………………… form of melanoma.

……………………… melanoma – i.e. one that results ……………………… death – is the most ………………………. Growing numbers
of people suffer ……………………… it, and it is increasingly found ……………………… young adults, particularly
women in their 20s and 30s, second only to breast ………………………. If you ……………………… any changes in the
skin, such ……………………… a growth, a sore that does not ………………………, or a ……………………… that is starting to
look strange, it is ……………………… to ……………………… your physician immediately. And if a family member has
had a skin tumour or you have a high ……………………… of moles, it is recommended to do so once or
……………………… a year.


Melanoma usually ……………………… as a dark brown or black patch with irregular borders and is ………………………
by the uncontrolled ……………………… of pigment-producing tanning cells. It may ……………………… anywhere on the
body without ……………………… or spread from a mole. It has a great ……………………… to invade surrounding
tissues, so it is essential to ……………………… it without delay. Since melanoma is often linked to a
change in one of your moles (……………………… of us have 100 of them or so), you should ……………………… them
……………………… and look for any ……………………… in their ……………………… and colour, for example a growing lump or
the spreading of pigment round the border. However, melanomas are sometimes ……………………… to
distinguish ……………………… ordinary moles. (About a third of them ……………………… in existing moles.) Other
……………………… (and their combinations) by which melanoma may be recognised also ………………………: a reddish
edge of the mole due to ………………………, crusting or slight ………………………, which causes the melanoma to stick
to clothing and possibly stain it, itching, and even pain.


A suspicious-looking mole or freckle could be a neoplasm and ……………………… be ……………………… by a doctor as
……………………… as ………………………. If necessary, you will then be ……………………… to a ……………………… - a doctor
specialising in skin treatment. Nowadays, ……………………… ……………………… a burgeoning number of private
screening clinics ……………………… offer a ‘mole check’ – an ……………………… of moles for cancer. However,
treatment could be an uphill struggle. Even after it has been ……………………… and then successfully
treated, melanoma may ……………………… in the following years and there may even be metastases to
……………………… organs. In that case, the prognosis is worse and the cancer may be considered ……………………….

It is not all bad news for sun worshippers, though. There is evidence that ……………………… exposure to
sunlight can be ……………………… for health. And it is the only way that many people can get enough
……………………… D - the ……………………… of which may ……………………… weakened bones and rickets, and in milder forms
may be ……………………… with a number of other serious problems including diabetes and bowel cancer.
Insufficient sun exposure is, too, a surprisingly widespread problem as more and more people
……………………… high factor sunscreens. Could the pendulum be swinging too far in the other ………………………?