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A22 HEALTH
Tuesday 24 January 2017
Hats Off

carcinoma at least once. ment needed. While BCCs and a herbal supplement areas are often sun dam-
But do not think only older seldom spread to vital or- that I never recommend, age that may not be
people are at risk. gans, they can cause ma- St. John’s wort can cause cancer. However, it may
Melanoma, the most dan- jor disfigurement and oc- sun sensitivity. be acanthosis nigricans,
gerous form of skin can- casionally result in nerve In our clinic, I diagnose which is not a skin disease,
cer, accounts for up to or muscle injury. Certain medical conditions that but a skin sign of an under-
By: Dr Carlos Viana three percent of all pedi- rare, aggressive forms can put people at higher risk. lying condition or disease.
‘Hats off’ an expression atric cancers. The treat- be lethal if not treated Most doctors do not ask for Besides the development
used to express admira- ment of childhood mela- promptly. a comprehensive blood of diabetes, it can reflect
tion for someone who has noma is delayed 40% of Squamous cell carcinoma test to see how close you kidney problems or colon,
done something praise- the time due to misdi- is the second most com- are to developing diabe- or breast cancer.
worthy. So, let us take our agnosis of dark growth mon form of skin cancer. tes. Certain types of can- When a patient presents
hats off to thank our lo- that look like moles. Most More than one million cers are more common in with darkening and thick-
cal dermatologists who melanomas are black or cases are diagnosed in people with diabetes. The ening of the skin, occur-
conducted a free skin brown, but they can also the U.S. each year. Squa- frequency and risk of de- ring mainly in the folds of
cancer screening for the be skin-colored, pink, red, mous cell carcinomas veloping overall skin can- the skin, I make sure not
public. The dermatolo- purple, blue or white. Mel- typically appear as per- cer, including melanoma, to run a blood test to find
gists donated their time anoma is caused mainly sistent, thick, rough, scaly is higher with people with any underlying cause.
and money to provide by intense, occasional patches that can bleed insulin resistance (pre- Get The Point! We have
this valuable service. No sun exposure. So, cover if bumped, scratched or diabetes). Many doctors tipped our hat with thanks
medical government baby’s head when out scraped. check fasting blood glu- to those that took the
agency provided any in the sun. Among adults They often look like warts cose, not learning how time and effort to screen
financial support, addi- Melanoma kills an esti- and sometimes ap- to connect insulin and In- our community. Now let
tional sponsorship was by mated 10,130 people in pear as open sores with sulin-like Growth Factor-1 us put our hats back to
the local media and print the US annually. Countries a raised border and a (IFG-1) to determine your protect a little more from
companies. closer to the equator will crusted surface. People level of pre- diabetes, in- the damaging sunlight.
Being older than sixty- have greater numbers. who have fair skin, light sulin resistance. Covering up and avoid-
five I was excited to be Basal cell carcinoma hair, and blue, green, or People with increasing ing the hottest part of the
screened and was happy (BCC) is the most com- gray eyes are at highest levels of pre-diabetes will day, may be smarter than
to see how many people mon form of skin can- risk of developing the dis- develop skin tags around chemical sunscreens.
attended. Over the past cer. More than 4 million ease. Chronic infections the neck, armpits and And, be careful of the
thirty years more people cases are diagnosed in and skin inflammation groin. A skin tag is a narrow reflection of our beauti-
have had skin cancer the U.S. each year. The can also increase the risk stalk of skin that bulges at ful sea even in the shade,
than all other cancers warning signs include: to developing squamous the end. Most of the time, when sitting on our white
combined. That means open sore that bleeds, a cell carcinoma. Further- skin tags are just unsightly. beaches. Prevention is
that each year there are red irritated area, a shiny more, immune deficiency However, when they ap- much better than having
more new cases of skin bump, a slightly elevated diseases, chemotherapy, pear, it means you are on to be treated for cancer
cancer than the com- pink growth, a scar-like and there are dozens of the road to developing and goes a long way.
bined incidence of can- area that is white, yellow medications and over- diabetes and when skin Come in for a blood test
cers of the breast, pros- or waxy. These five warn- the-counter drugs that tags are twisted, irritated, to ensure you are not de-
tate, lung and colon. And ing signs should not be can cause sun sensitivity. or bleeding, this might be veloping an environment
as we baby- boomers get ignored. BCCs are easily Some of the most com- a good reason to seek where cancer can grow.
older more than 50% who treated in their early stag- mon include: Antibiotics: medical attention. Let us help you by identi-
live to age 65 will have es. The larger the tumor doxycycline, tetracycline, Darkening skin on your fying chronic inflamma-
either basal cell carci- has grown, however, the ciprofloxacin, antidepres- sides of your face and tion and reducing risk for
noma or squamous cell more extensive the treat- sants: doxepin (Sinequan); neck or spots on exposed developing diabetes.q