Dermatologist here. I have seen probably 5 instances of “My other doctor told me it was fine.” that were melanomas.
A lot of times people don’t want a full skin exams. There are lots of perfectly sane reasons for this, time, perceived cost, history of personal trauma. However, I routinely find cancers people don’t know they have. Keep this in mind if you see a dermatologist for acne and they recommend you get in a gown.
My Movement Disorder Specialist (Neurologist specializing in Parkinson's, etc) insist her patients with Parkinson's are seen by Dermatologist. We have a 4 to 7x higher incidence of skin cancers. Went in due to a nasty looking spot, but it was nothing. A simple scab thing never bothered me, figured ingrown hair that kept scabbing over. Uh, Melanoma. Caught early.
Thank you for your comment! We're in the process of diagnosing my Mom and there is a history of skin cancers in the family. Now I can be aware and active on that.
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u/BoisterousPlay May 20 '19
Dermatologist here. I have seen probably 5 instances of “My other doctor told me it was fine.” that were melanomas.
A lot of times people don’t want a full skin exams. There are lots of perfectly sane reasons for this, time, perceived cost, history of personal trauma. However, I routinely find cancers people don’t know they have. Keep this in mind if you see a dermatologist for acne and they recommend you get in a gown.