Many cancers can be detected early by simple self-examination. The same is true for skin cancer, which is why it’s so important to keep an eye on your skin and report and suspicious-looking changes to your dermatologist. Here, Dr. Todd Minars of Minars Dermatology in Hollywood, Florida talks about the importance of early detection when it comes to skin cancer.
If you are in a high risk group when it comes to skin cancer, it’s important to be checked out regularly by your dermatologist. By regularly, we mean twice a year. If you are not in a high-risk group but are age 30 or over, you should be checked at least once a year.
People who are in high-risk groups for skin cancer are those who:
- Are in the sun a lot, or who have had previous sun damage to their skin
- Have a lot of atypical moles, or more than 50 moles in general
- Have had a family history of skin cancer, or previous history themselves
Main Types of Skin Cancers
By and large, skin cancer is divided into two main groups, although a host of other skin cancers are much less common. These two include keratinocyte cancers (basal and squamous cell skin cancers) and melanomas.
The most common skin cancers are basal and squamous cell skin cancers, which develop from cells called keratinocytes, the most common cells in the skin. Melanomas develop from melanocytes, the cells that make the brown pigment that gives skin its color. Melanocytes can also form benign growths called moles.
Ask your dermatologist to explain how to tell these types of skin cancer apart, and to show you what melanomas and basal and squamous cell skin cancers look like. By knowing what to look for, you can find them at the earliest possible stage, when they are cured most easily.
Look For Changes
At home, people should look for issues such as a new or changing mole, or a sore that doesn’t heal, which can be a common presentation of a skin cancer. If you want to wait and see what happens, wait a few weeks or maybe a month. But if nothing heals or gets better within a month, visit your dermatologist.
The nice thing about skin cancer is we can see it coming. It’s all curable if caught early. It’s just a matter of being on top of things. It’s a shame when you see somebody with a melanoma that was there for years. Maybe if they came in the first month they saw it then their whole outlook would be different.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
