Could painful red lump on my ear be skin cancer?

GETTING TO THE HEART OF MEDICAL MATTERS

- Dr Rosemary Leonard

Q I'm 33 and have had a small red lump on the top of my earlobe for months. It really hurts when I touch it, wearing headphones for work meetings can trigger sharp pain and it can be uncomfortable to lie on that side of my face at night. I had a phone consultation with my GP, who thought it was an infection and gave me antibiotics but they didn’t help. I've heard skin cancer can develop on ears, so I'm worried about it, but is it likely?

A The ear lobes of people with very short hair can be exposed to a lot of sun, and unless they are protected with either sunblock or a hat, they are susceptible to skin cancer.

Though melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, can occur on the ear lobes, the more slow-growing types, squamous cell and basal cell, are more common, and tend to develop after many years of UV exposure, so are unusual in people in their 30s.

Also, most skin cancers don't cause discomfort, and the fact your bump hurts when you touch it suggest this may be a condition with a typically long, unpronounceable medical name ~ chondrodermatitis nodularis helices (or CNH for short).

An area of inflammation occurs in a small area of the skin of the ear lobe and the underlying cartilage, and though the exact cause isn't known, it's thought repeated pressure on the ear lobe, which reduces blood supply to the affected area, is to blame.

Although this can be due to repeatedly sleeping on one side of your face, a more common factor now is wearing headphones for prolonged periods of time.