Conditions

Health Authorities Release New Screening Guidelines on Skin Cancer Detection [VIDEO]

By Alleah Kiamco | Update Date: Apr 05, 2017 07:13 AM EDT

Dr. Paul Lundstrom, Dermatology Certified Nurse Practitioner said, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer and almost everyone, even those with darker skin, are at risk. With this, dermatological clinics across the U.S. hold new screening guidelines on skin cancer; some even provide it for free.

The most common forms of skin cancer are Basal Cell Carcinoma, which often appears as a slightly transparent bump in the skin; and Squamous Cell Carcinoma, the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the epidermis. The third and most serious type is the Melanoma, which according to the News Medical, could be deadly but if detected earlier, the spread of the cancer cells could be prevented.

Skin cancer can be detected via a visual exam of Dermatology. Dermatologists are often the front liners in the detection, and when results of a possible case of skin cancer are found, further appointments and examinations are conducted.

With the new screening guidelines on skin cancer, doctors recommend periodic skin examinations as a vital key in diagnosing cancer in its earliest form where it is still curable. People with a family history of two or more blood relatives that were diagnosed with melanoma should do lifelong dermatologist surveillance.

Although routine skin cancer screening is also a solution, doctors do not recommend it since skin cancer is sneaky and may appear anytime to people with history, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center said. Oftentimes, the risk of melanoma is heightened for people with many common or atypical moles. One should also be alerted when one's skin fails to tan and burns too easily added up with blistering sunburns.

As for the time being, there is still no number or a scientific study that proves that screening individuals with the said risk factors might reduce the number of melanoma deaths, but doctors and health practitioners believe that earlier detection, which is found out most probably through screening, actually saves lives.

  

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