Yesterday morning, Charles Osgood interviewed Dr. Alan Geller of Harvard’s School of Public Health about something MoleSafe has been passionately promoting: the need for more doctors to be better trained in skin cancer screening.
Dr. Geller said,
We’re finding that about three-quarters of primary care residents from our four programs were not trained at all in the skin cancer examination during their residency program.
Since too many Americans don’t keep skin cancer in mind because its symptoms can be more easily overlooked compared to the more obvious symptoms of other diseases, we need to be our own patient advocates and ask for check ups.
Dr. Geller told Mr. Osgood that if your primary care doctor is, for example, listening to your lungs then “there’s no better activity that could complement that than by just looking at the back of the skin for moles.”
I was pleased that Dr. Geller also pointed out, however, that even if a primary care physician is not trained to perform a thorough skin exam, “they could at least refer the patient to somebody better equipped.”
So, the point is it probably doesn’t take an awful lot to get the ball rolling on at least being able to do an adequate examination — and if one sees something unusual, to make sure that the resident or the physician refers that person to a dermatologist or someone who has a real strong expertise in the skin to follow through appropriately.
– Dr. Alan Geller, Harvard School of Public Health as told to Charles Osgood
So, here are our reminders of the options we encourage:
DO keep an eye out ON yourself (look for changes) and FOR yourself: ask your primary care doctor to be mindful of your skin at every exam.
BETTER: Make sure you have annual exams with a dermatologist who takes his or her time doing a careful once-over, from head to BETWEEN the toes!
EVEN BETTER: Find a dermatologist who goes beyond the “naked eye” exam and also uses a Dermatoscope for more finer observation of moles.
BEST: DO come in for your baseline screening at MoleSafe and have a thorough review done by a melanographer, complete with digital photography, total body dermoscopy, and a map of your body’s moles for future comparisons. We’ll share your results with you and with your dermatologist so you’re better armed with information.
Knowledge is the best line of defense.
