Why You Should Schedule your Skin Cancer Screening Now
- Posted on: Sep 15 2021
Let’s face it, these past 18 months have brought us a pretty major health concern. The prevalence of the novel coronavirus has overshadowed much of our concept of health and wellness. Now that vaccines are available and seemingly doing a good job of decreasing the severity of the illness, it’s time that we expand our thoughts once again to the ways we can promote a long and healthy life. Skin cancer screening is one of them. If it has been some time since your last screening, or you’ve never had one, now is the time to contact our Manhattan dermatology office to get an appointment on the books. Here, we discuss why.
Skin Cancer is Not Finicky
Anyone can get skin cancer. In the United States, more than five million cases are diagnosed each year. It is the most common cancer diagnosis made even today, after we have become acutely aware of its seriousness, prevalence, and preventability.
One of the reasons skin cancer may remain so prevalent is because the vast majority of people think their risk of developing one of the common forms of skin cancer is low. If you have darker skin, you may assume you have a lower risk of skin cancer. You may think your risk is low if you wear sunscreen when you go for a walk or hike or to the water. Sunscreen helps, but only if applied properly, which isn’t the norm.
Skin Cancer can Develop Anywhere
If you check your skin regularly, you may think you’re doing enough to avoid skin cancer. Regardless of your performance of self-exams, you still benefit from professional skin cancer screenings performed by your dermatologist. As thorough as you may be, you may not be able to observe some areas as well as you think. Skin cancer doesn’t just develop on areas we regularly expose to the sun. It can also form on the scalp, between the toes, the soles of the feet, the nails, even the mucus membranes. A skin cancer screening observes all of these areas.
Risks Increase Over Time
Sun damage is cumulative. Every instance of sun exposure, every sunburn, stays with the skin long after its effects have faded. As we age, we are naturally more at-risk for developing basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma simply because the body has more years of stored damage.
Skin cancer is a preventable and treatable condition. Outcomes are better when we detect the signs of cancer early, which we do through annual skin cancer screenings. Schedule your screening by contacting us at 212.391.8600.
Posted in: Skin Cancer
