|
Skin Cancer Awareness
Spring is the time of the year as the weather begins to
warm that people begin to pay a bit more attention to their overall health,
initiate exercise programs, and generally begin to spend more time outdoors.
As the largest organ of the body, the skin really doesn’t age with time, but
simply damages due to weathering. It is important for those especially 35
years of age and older to begin doing periodic monthly skin self exams for
skin cancer development. Let’s look at a few important Statistics:
● More than half of all cancer diagnosed this year
in the United States will be skin cancer.
● this year alone, more than 1,000,000 new cases of
skin cancer will be diagnosed. About 80% will be basal cell carcinoma,
followed by 16% being Squamous Cell carcinoma, followed then by Melanoma
(4%).
● Although the least common of the three, Melanoma
is clearly on the rise. It has been estimated that about 1 in 70 persons
will now develop Melanoma over their lifetime and currently one person dies
every hour in the US of Melanoma.
Here are a few important tips on what to watch for:
Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma:
Usually present in a sun-exposed area of the skin as a non-healing
sore, raised bump that persists and/or occasionally bleeds or a non-healing
rough patch.
Melanoma: Can present as changing mole
or begin to grow as a “new mole” or develop adjacent to a preexisting mole.
All melanomas begin small. It is important to recognize that any change
(size, shape, color, symmetry, dark to light, light to dark, itching,
bleeding, etc.) can be an important and potentially life threatening
change. In addition, only one of the 4 most common types of Melanoma occurs
in sun-exposed regions of the body. The other three can occur on
any part of the body. Higher risk areas for men include the
back, upper outer arms, neck, and scalp. In women, the lower legs followed
by the vulva are the two most common areas of melanoma development.
Remember:
The only true way to cure skin cancer of any type, but
particularly Melanoma, is early detection and surgical removal.
Ask your Dermatologist for a Total Body Skin
Examination (TBSE).
Higher risk patients for skin cancer (blue/hazel eyes;
blond/red hair; burns easily; Northern European descent; family history of
skin cancer, especially Melanoma) should perform their own monthly self
exams and have a YEARLY TBSE by a Board-certified Dermatologist!
|
