Complimentary Skin Evaluations in May
Because May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, CosMed is offering complimentary skin evaluations for suspicious lesions and moles throughout the month using the latest technology. We are also teaching our patients how to perform a skin self exam, which is especially important for those with a history of skin cancer or suspicious lesions. Book your free skin evaluation now!
More about Dermoscopy
Dermoscopy is a dermatological technique in which a skin examination is performed on skin lesions with a dermatoscope. The dermatoscope consists of a magnifier, a non-polarized light source, a transparent plate and a liquid medium between the instrument and the skin which allows for the unobstructed inspection of skin lesions. This technique is useful when dermatologists need to distinguish between benign and malignant (cancerous) lesions, especially in the diagnosis of melanoma which is the deadliest and most aggressive form of skin cancer.
With dermoscopy there is considerable improvement in the sensitivity (detection of melanomas) as well as in specificity (percentage of non-melanomas correctly diagnosed as benign), compared to a naked eye examination. The accuracy of dermoscopy is increased by up to 20% in the case of sensitivity and up to 10% in the case of specificity, compared to a naked eye examination. By using dermoscopy, we reduce the frequency of unnecessary surgical excisions of benign lesions. While dermoscopy is helpful in the diagnosis of skin cancer it is not a substitute for a skin biopsy, and CosMed does also conduct skin biopsies for those lesions that are still deemed suspicious.
Skin Cancer facts:
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States and many countries worldwide. In the US, more than 3.5 million incidences of skin cancer are diagnosed annually. Every year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidences of breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer. It is estimated that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer over the course of their lifetime.
Skin cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal skin cells. It occurs when unrepairable DNA damage is caused to skin cells (which is most often caused by ultraviolet radiation from sunshine or tanning beds) which triggers mutations (genetic defects) that lead the skin cells to multiply rapidly and form malignant tumors. However, skin cancer is also the easiest cancer to treat when diagnosed early. With the combination of the annual dermatological evaluations, self examination and the use of the dermoscopy, we can detect and treat skin cancer early and save lives.
******************************************
Dr. de la Fuente
Our CosMed dermatologist Dr. de la Fuente is a skin cancer expert. He has presented and published scientific articles available at PubMed, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Skin and Aging, Clinical and Experimental Dermatology and many more. He also serves as a Dermatology Professor at School of Medicine in Tijuana.
