Desert Messenger

November 15, 2023 www.DesertMessenger.com 23 "I'm here to spread a message of hope. Follow your heart. Don't follow what you've been told you're supposed to do." ~J. Cole REQUEST A FREE QUOTE CALL NOW BEFORE THE NEXT POWER OUTAGE *To qualify, consumers must request a quote, purchase, install and activate the generator with a participating dealer. Call for a full list of terms and conditions. Contact a Generac dealer for full terms and conditions $0 MONEY DOWN + LOW MONTHLY PAYMENT OPTIONS (928) 927-1273 7-year Extended Warranty* – A $735 Value! FREE Whether you are home or away, protect what matters most from unexpected power outages with a Generac Home Standby Generator. Guest Commentary By Jonathan Harris, PA "Now that I live in Arizona, I need to start doing a skin exam once or twice a year." This is a comment we frequently hear at Red Mountain, Dermatology and it is based on mis- understanding. Most skin cancers are caused by sun exposure. What is commonly misunderstood is that these changes from the sun can take twenty to thirty years to develop into full-blown skin cancer. Still, some may take far less time. WHEN SHOULD I GET MY SKIN CHECKED? The great news is that Skin Cancer is generally very treatable. Addi- tionally, with proper sun protection, some skin cancer may be avoid- able. For patients who are under 60 years old we recommend annual skin exams. For those who are over 60 years old, we recommend a skin exam every six months. These in- tervals are recommended because skin changes over time. The more sun exposure a person has had over the years, the faster their skin will change. There are several marks on the skin which we classify as pre- cancerous lesions. When these are found early, we can simply freeze or remove them before they turn into skin cancer. There are many differ- ent types of skin cancer. The three most common types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. THREE COMMON TYPES OF SKIN CANCER Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer with an estimated 3.6 million cases per year in the United States. It commonly presents as a pink pearly bump on the skin which won't go away for several months. Frequently it will bleed for no reason and can grow and become ulcerated. The great news is that this type of skin cancer does not spread to other parts of the Routine skin cancer screenings key to best outcomes body. Still, it will grow in size local- ly and burrow deeper into the skin and below. Basal cell carcinoma is very treatable and is usually cut out locally by surgical excision , which is a curative measure for that spe- cific site. Other basal cell carcinoma may grow after a person has had one removed. Basal cell carcinoma has the highest cure rate of all skin cancers. We recently had a patient come to our office who was told by another healthcare provider that she had an ulcer on her thigh just above the knee. Her daughter said that it had been there for 5 years. We im- mediately recognized it as basal cell carcinoma, took a biopsy, and later removed the cancer completely. Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common type of skin cancer with an estimated 1.8 mil- lion new cases per year in the United States. This skin cancer usually starts as a scaly red bump or patch on the skin which will not heal after several weeks. This type of skin cancer does have the potential to spread to other parts of the body and does so in an estimated 2 to 5%. Similar to basal cell carcinoma, the most common treatment is surgical, excision, or re- moval of the cancer. This in office procedure produces excellent results and extremely high cure rates. Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer. There are various types of melanoma and approxi- mately 98,000 new cases are diag- nosed each year. Melanoma can be found on any surface of skin on the body and does not require sun dam- age to develop but sun exposure is a risk factor. Additional risk factors include many moles, fair skin, and light, colored hair, family, history of melanomas, and older age. One of our patients was a 28 year old elite endurance athlete. He came in for a routine skin exam and we found a 3 mm melanoma on his lower back. Surgical excision was performed and the patient had no further prob- lems. Early detection is key. As men- tioned above, regular skin exams are the key to good outcomes in skin cancer. A pediatrician friend was sending many of his patients to our dermatology office. One day at lunch he asked me to look at a le- sion on his eyelid. Because of the busy nature of his practice, I met him at my office early in the morn- ing to take a biopsy. He was shocked to learn that he had a basal cell car- cinoma. We worked with our sur- geons to remove this lesion, and his case resolved very nicely. Whether you visit Red Mountain Dermatolo- gy or another dermatologist, please visit a dermatologist and have your skin checked regularly. - Jon Jonathan Harris is a Physician As- sistant at Red Mountain Dermatol- ogy in Goodyear Arizona and is a Diplomate Fellow with the Society of Dermatology PA's. He and his wife Denise have 6 kids. Jon enjoys all things outdoors and is also flu- ent in Spanish. For more information please con- tact Jon at (623) 748-9165

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