Skin cancer screenings help early detection

November 29, 2023

BAFFLED by CONTRADICTORY skin cancer screening guidelines? 

[Here’s what you need to know]

Friend, I give kudos to anybody who can figure out what the heck the feds are talking about most of the time. 

Because their official guidelines are often a MOVING target…

Which we came to learn about IN SPADES during the pandemic. 

Remember all that BUNK about disinfecting our packages before we brought them in off the porch?

Pfft.

But that wasn’t a one-time deal…

Because we’ve seen a REVOLVING DOOR of nutritional advice… blood pressure and cholesterol target numbers…

And even drugs that have been approved… and then YANKED for safety concerns. (They couldn’t figure that out EARLIER?!)

Well, here’s another example of the feds talking out of both sides of their mouths…

And it’s a doozy. 

Because it’s got to do with cancer – specifically, skin cancer. 

Now, on the one hand, they’ve been HARPING on early detection… saying that catching it EARLY is key to survival. 

But one agency that works with the feds, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, DOESN’T recommend yearly screening!

Now, I actually think we’re OVERSCREENING… and OVERDIAGNOSING certain types of cancers… 

Like supposedly finding breast cancer on a mammogram when it’s actually benign dense tissue… 

Or using PSA tests to discover very slow-growing prostate tumors that would NEVER kill you.

But in the case of skin cancers like melanoma… all you’ve got to do to screen for it is simply LOOK AT THE SKIN!

That’s right – the USPSTF is advising AGAINST the annual “mole check” that you can get from a  regular visit to a dermatologist. 

They say there’s ZERO evidence of benefit… but what they MEAN is that diagnosing MORE melanomas doesn’t seem to be saving lives. 

And that’s a problem with JUMPING to conclusions… not with the screening itself. 

Fortunately, when it comes to your skin… you or your spouse can look for the same exact things that a skin doc would. 

And there’s an easy way of remembering it, too:

  • A: asymmetry, or a lopsided-looking patch of pigment
  • B: border irregularity, or a mole that’s splotchy and not round with a smooth edge
  • C: nonuniform color, like dark in one area and light in another
  • D: diameter greater than 6 mm, and
  • E: evolution over time, meaning something that’s changing, especially if it’s getting bigger or starting to look weird. 

Remember that these suspicious spots can crop up ANYWHERE on your body… including the areas the sun NEVER reaches… like in between your toes!

So it’s best to give your skin a really good once-over… and do it about once a month. 

And if something doesn’t look right, bring it to the attention of a skin doc.

Most times, if he sees something he doesn’t like the looks of… he’ll lop off the top of it right there in the office… and send it to the lab. 

It’s probably nothing. 

Other times, he might get a little more concerned about it… and have you come back for an in-office procedure to dig the thing out of you. He’ll give you a little local anesthetic… sew you up… and send you off within an hour or so. 

It’s one of those “better safe than sorry” things. 

If he starts talking about melanoma… get a second (or third) opinion before agreeing to ANY treatment.

Yes, time is of the essence…

But you don’t want to submit to any cancer treatments that you DON’T need. Remember, they’ve got to be pretty STRONG in order to KILL cancer… which means your healthy cells will take a hit, too. 

Nobody should go through that if they don’t actually have cancer.

In pursuit of the truth,

Dr. Marc S. Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D.

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