Skin Cancer

Would melanoma show in blood work? Generally, melanoma cannot be detected through routine blood work. Rather the gold standard for diagnosing the melanoma is with a biopsy where the tissue is sent to the laboratory for special staining and examination under the microscope. Based on the characteristic of the melanoma, further tests such as...

Let's walk through a scenario where a patient gets tested for melanoma. Mrs Jones, a lovely 72-year-old retired nurse, presents to the skin doctor because she has had no skin checks for the past 10 years. She was motivated to attend the clinic because her childhood best friend was recently diagnosed with a melanoma on her back. Since they grew up together and spent many summers in their youth on the beach without sunscreen, she is understandably concerned about herself. After all, Mrs Jones is way fairer and has way more freckles than her bestie and she recalled numerous episodes of blistering sunburns.

Freezing a melanoma should not be considered an option. Typically, cryotherapy, a technique using liquid nitrogen causes destruction of tissue at -196 degrees celsius. Cryotherapy is used to treat certain benign skin lesions such as skin tags and seborrhoeic keratoses (age related warts) or pre-cancerous skin cancers like actinic keratoses. It is not appropriate...

This article provides insights into the varying degrees of skin cancer risk and the corresponding determinants to help individuals assess their susceptibility to skin cancer.

Can you have several melanoma at the same time? YES it is possible. A way to think about it is that once you have one melanoma, the chance of having another is more likely. It is not uncommon for patients to be diagnosed with more than one melanomas during a single visit to the doctor...

What is Mohs Micrographic Surgery? Mohs micrographic surgery is the most effective procedure for removing non-melanoma skin cancers, such as basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which are the most common types of skin cancer.  Patients are referred to a Mohs surgeon for this procedure because it allows for complete removal of the...

What is 5-fluorouracil (Efudix)? Efudix cream is a prescribed cream that contains 5-fluorouracil as the active ingredient.

What is BCC? A basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common type of skin cancer. An uncommon and outdated name for a BCC is a “rodent ulcer”.  It is the least dangerous type of skin cancer and commonly completely cured by treatment. Characteristics of a BCC 1. Reddish patch or irritated area An unexplained area of persistent...

Can you scratch off melanoma? The short answer is a resounding NO! In fact, it is very dangerous and not advisable at all. Melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells, that cause melanomas are located at the dermoepidermal junction.