May is skin cancer awareness month and the doc is in to make sure you know how to spot the first signs of skin cancer.
Dr. Ward, Facial Plastic Surgeon, explained that typically, patients find out that they have skin cancer due to a non-healing sore (like a pimple), red spot, white spot on the skin. In cases of Melanoma, it can usually be a pigmented spot that changes in size, appearance, etc.
Often, the spot might simply be a precancerous lesion and so it is often treated with liquid nitrogen to freeze the area. If the spot goes away and does not come back after this treatment, then nothing else needs to be done. If the spot comes back, then it needs to be biopsied
To determine if it is a skin cancer, a biopsy is typically needed where the tissue is taken and looked at under the microscope to determine if it is cancerous or not.
Paula, one of Dr. Ward's patients shared her skin cancer story with us and also how Dr. Ward helped to reconstruct the areas of her face that had to be removed.
A dermatologist Mohs surgeon is a specialized dermatologist who removes the cancer and looks at it microscopically to ensure the cancer has all been removed before the areas of the skin can be reconstructed.
For more information you can go to wardmd.com and follow them on social media @wardmd.
