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Keeping Your Skin Healthy, Young, and Beautiful

As a dermatologic and cosmetic surgeon who specializes in the treatment of cancers of the skin, I see patients ongoingly who are concerned about their skin. Maintaining beautiful, clear, and uniformly pigmented skin throughout your life is not impossible. Oftentimes, these issues are not merely cosmetic but rather indicative of larger, perhaps systemic issues. Yet, prevention and rejuvenation is usually easy. In our office, we use the latest technologies (including lasers, fillers, chemical peels, and botox) to return skin to its youthful beauty. Additionally, we uncover and treat complex skin cancers every day. Always remember, whether or not you’ve spent significant amounts of time in the sun or not, EVERYONE is at risk of skin cancer. Always keep the following in mind:

Sunlight and Ultraviolet Exposure

We need the sun for its light and warmth, but the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation can cause damage to our skin and eyes – even when it’s cloudy or overcast.

What Damage Does UV Cause?

The short-term results of unprotected exposure to UV rays are tanning and sunburn. However, the long-term effect of sunburn is more serious. UV exposure that is intense enough to cause sunburn clearly increases a person's risk of developing skin cancer. And UV exposure can increase skin cancer risk even without causing sunburn.

Long-term exposure can also cause premature changes in skin including:

• Aging
• Wrinkles
• Loss of elasticity
• Dark patches (lentigos, that are sometimes called "age spots" or "liver spots")
• Actinic keratoses – pre-cancerous lesions

Are Any UV Rays Safe?

There are no safe UV rays.

Two main types of UV radiation reach the earth, UVA and UVB. Dermatologic researchers now believe that both UVA and UVB rays contribute to skin damage, including skin cancer. UVB radiation is known to cause damage to the DNA of skin cells. Skin cancers develop when this damage affects the DNA of genes that control growth and division of skin cells. Recent research has found that UVA also contributes to skin cancer formation and contributes to premature aging.

Important!! Artificial sources of UV light, such as sunlamps and tanning booths, also increase risk of developing skin cancer and are just as damaging as natural UV sources.

Prevention & Early Detection of Skin Cancer

Can you prevent cancer or reduce your cancer risk? How can you detect cancer early? What are the risk factors for different types of cancer? Concerned about cancer because it runs in your family? Frequently exposed to tobacco or environmental hazards? Just want to stay healthy? You can find answers to these questions and more by going for regular visits to your dermatologist.

Detecting Skin Cancer

Only your dermatologist can tell for sure but, here are some important warning signs to check for regularly.

The ABCD Rule for Early Detection of Melanoma

Almost everyone has moles. The vast majority of moles are perfectly harmless. A change in a mole’s appearance is a sign that you should see your doctor. Here’s the simple ABCD rule to help you remember the important signs of melanoma and other skin cancers:

• A is for ASYMMETRY: One-half of a mole or birthmark does not match the other.
• B is for BORDER: The edges are irregular, ragged, notched, or blurred.
• C is for COLOR The color is not the same all over, but may have differing shades of brown or black, sometimes with patches of red, white, or blue.
• D is for DIAMETER: The area is larger than 6 millimeters (about ¼ inch -- the size of a pencil eraser) or is growing larger.

Other important signs of melanoma include changes in size, shape, or color of a mole or the appearance of a new spot. Some melanomas do not fit the ABCD rule described above, so it is particularly important for you to be aware of changes in skin lesions or a new skin lesion.

Other warning signs are:

• A sore that does not heal
• A new growth
• Spread of pigment from the border of a spot to surrounding skin
• Redness or a new swelling beyond the border
• Change in sensation – itchiness, tenderness, or pain
• Change in the surface of a mole – scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or the appearance of a bump or nodule.

If you experience any of these warning signs, speak with your dermatologist immediately.