Harvard-Trained Dermatologist Warns: Early Signs Of Skin Cancer You Must Watch For
Skin cancers are the most common type of cancer around the world, with millions of cases each year. In 2022, the World Health Organisation reported about 330,000 new cases of melanoma, a serious type of skin cancer, and nearly 60,000 people died from it. Melanoma rates vary a lot in different countries, and men are more often affected than women in most places. A skin doctor trained at Harvard warns that some spots or blemishes on the skin, which may look harmless, could actually be cancer.
Dr Daniel Sugai urges patients with persistent pimples that last longer than a month to seek treatment.
"If you have a pimple that won't go away in four weeks, please see your dermatologist," he said this week on TikTok.
Another sign it's time to get checked? Spots that bleed.
"Another complaint I hear patients say is that, 'I just washed my face, and there's this one spot that keeps bleeding, and it does this bleed-scab cycle,' " said Sugai, who is based in the Seattle area.
"If you have a spot that's not fully healing or is very fragile with gentle trauma, like washing your face, definitely see your dermatologist."
According to The New York Post, Sugai shared that both symptoms could be signs of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common type of cancer. Some 3.6 million Americans are diagnosed with BCC each year, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
As the name implies, this skin cancer starts in basal cells, which produce new skin cells as the old ones die off, according to the Mayo Clinic.
"I diagnose these every day, and I actually treat them surgically every day," said Sugai.
BCCs develop "tree-like blood vessels" to aid their growth, making them especially prone to bleeding.
BCC can manifest as a pimple that doesn't appear to heal, a shiny, skin-coloured bump, a white or waxy lesion, a flat, scaly patch or a lesion that is black, brown or blue.
Addressing patients of colour, Sugai noted that BCC commonly presents as pigmented.
"It's usually hyperpigmented with some red mixed in, and with time, it will start to be an eroded plaque that will bleed easily," he said.
It's very important not to ignore any unusual changes or marks on your skin. Early detection can save lives.
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