Skin Cancer Evaluation & Treatment at Advanced Specialty Care in Connecticut
Offering skin cancer diagnosis and treatment in Danbury, Norwalk, Ridgefield, Stamford and throughout Fairfield County Connecticut.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the world affecting more than 2 million Americans every year. This means that 1 in 5 Americans will have skin cancer at some time in their life.
Early detection is critical to successful treatment, so it’s important to have yearly skin exams by a Dermatologist, and to check your own body periodically.
The three main types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. All three are mostly due to sun exposure (UV rays), with basal cell carcinoma being the most common and melanoma being the most dangerous. Early detection of melanoma can significantly reduce both illness and mortality. The risk of dying from the disease, in fact, is directly related to the depth of the cancer, which is directly related to the amount of time it has been growing unnoticed.
Basal Cell Carcinoma: The Most Common Skin Cancer
Basal cell carcinoma is an abnormal growth of cells found in the lower layer of the epidermis. These cells are most commonly found on sun-exposed areas such as the face, scalp, neck, hands, arms, and shoulders. They typically form a slow-growing lesion that does not heal and bleeds easily.
Warning signs of basal cell carcinoma include:
- Open sores that do not go away
- Open sores that bleed or ooze
- Pink fleshy lesions with a rolled or raised border
- Lesions with a pearly appearance
- Black-blue or brown areas
- A red patchy area that does not go away
Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common skin cancer. Like basal cell carcinomas, they are also found in areas that are exposed to the sun such as the head, neck, lips, or outer ear. They are different from basal cell carcinomas in the way they appear on the skin.
Warning signs of squamous cell carcinomas include:
- A lesion that has an ulcer or open crater, with layers of skin that have eroded
- A thick, rough, scaly patch that easily bleeds
- A lesion with a crusted surface
Melanoma
Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer. However, if caught early, it can be treated very easily with a 98% cure rate. Melanoma arises from the melanocytes (pigment cells) in your skin, again mostly caused by sun exposure. The UV rays target the melanocytes and cause mutations in the cells. Those mutations cause the cells to form very quickly, producing malignant tumors. Melanoma can form its own mole or can be found in an existing mole. Genetics can play a role as well, but people that are more prone to forming melanoma are those who are fair-skinned with red hair, those who have freckles, and people that easily sunburn.
The warning signs of melanoma can be remembered by ABCDE:
- A: Asymmetry: One side of the mole does not look identical to the other.
- B: Border: the borders of the mole are an irregular shape and not a perfect circle
- C: Color: There are different colors in the mole such as red, blue, black, white
- D: Diameter: The diameter of the lesion is greater than 6 mm
- E: Evolving: A mole that is quickly evolving/changing than all your other moles
Another warning sign for melanoma is the “ugly duckling sign.” This is when you see a mole that is changing fast or looks different than all the other moles on your body.
What To Expect From A Skin Cancer Screening
While you can, and should, check your own body for unusual moles and marks and changes to them, a yearly full-body exam by a dermatologist is also recommended. A dermatologist will give a more in-depth exam – especially helpful for the hard to see areas such as scalp, back, and bottoms of the feet and has special tools to view early signs of skin cancer such as pre-cancers.
Skin cancer can be cured, but it’s important to be vigilant and check your skin on a regular basis. At Advanced Specialty Care, our Dermatology Specialists can conduct a skin cancer screening to ensure that you are properly diagnosed and treated and should skin cancer removal be required, our Dermatologists can perform in-office biopsies and excisions and our Plastic Surgeons are able to perform more complicated skin cancer excisions, closures and closures following MOHS procedure.
Skin Cancer Prevention:
- Use a broad spectrum SPF of 30 or higher applied 20 minutes prior to sun exposure and re-applied every 2 hours
- Seek shade between 10 AM and 4 PM
- Wear sun-protective clothing such as broad-brimmed hats, sunglasses with UV protection, swim shirts
- Get yearly skin exams by a dermatology expert who can detect early signs of skin cancer before they spread
- Check your skin once a month with a self-exam and see a Dermatologist if you notice any changes or suspicious spots
- Avoid sunburn
- Avoid tanning beds
Contact the Dermatologists and Plastic Surgeons at Advanced Specialty Care today to schedule your skin cancer check, biopsy or excision in one of our four convenient offices in Danbury, Norwalk, Ridgefield or Stamford, CT.