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Video transcript: How to Detect & Prevent the Most Common of All Cancers

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[00:00:01] May it is national skin cancer awareness month and living in sunny Arizona it puts us all at risk of developing skin cancer so when is the last time you had a skin cancer screening well here with the importance of screenings and prevention tips is Leah Shillanick she is a certified nurse practitioner with affiliated dermatology I'm pointing the finger I have to admit we're not very vigilant about that you know we're sun babies we're always in the sun so what is skin cancer what type of

[00:00:31] of skin cancer on there? So the skin cancer is really abnormal skin cells caused by

[00:00:37] damage from UV radiation coming from the sunlight or artificial light such as

[00:00:42] tanning beds. The main types of skin cancer would be like the non melanoma skin

[00:00:48] cancer. So basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. These tend to occur in

[00:00:54] sun-exposed areas. They're red scaly spots or maybe a sore or an ulcer that

[00:00:59] just doesn't want to heal. Are those dangerous?

[00:01:01] They can be locally to the skin and then rarely they can be quite aggressive.

[00:01:06] Okay, so the next type of skin cancer is.

[00:01:09] The big scary one.

[00:01:10] This is melanoma.

[00:01:12] These look like dark, scary spots and this is the most deadly type of skin cancer

[00:01:16] and the one we're always trying to catch early and ideally prevent.

[00:01:20] So if somebody's looking at this image right now and going, oh my goodness, I have that

[00:01:24] on my skin.

[00:01:25] We need to seek treatment right away.

[00:01:27] Right away.

[00:01:27] All right, so this is the best part.

[00:01:29] What does skin cancer look like?

[00:01:30] Let's give it the ABCs of skin cancer.

[00:01:32] So you may have heard a common mnemonic we give to our patients is the ABCDEs of skin cancer.

[00:01:38] And really, this is more focusing on melanoma.

[00:01:42] So A would be for asymmetry or a lesion or spot that just doesn't look the same on both sides.

[00:01:48] B would be border irregularities.

[00:01:51] So the edges are irregular or uneven.

[00:01:54] C would be for color.

[00:01:56] So anything dark black or that has multiple colors in it.

[00:01:59] D, diameter, so the size of it is bigger than the end of a pencil eraser.

[00:02:04] And then arguably the most important one would be E for evolving or anything that's changing

[00:02:09] in size, color, or shape over time.

[00:02:11] I love that, the A, B, C, D, E's of skin cancer, and again, it makes it simplified, but it's

[00:02:16] still very scary.

[00:02:17] Yes.

[00:02:18] So how can we prevent skin cancer?

[00:02:20] So really, when it comes to skin cancer, prevention is the key.

[00:02:24] It can be prevented, so really by being very diligent in

[00:02:29] your sun protection and sun avoidance measures.

[00:02:33] So we want to be making sure we're wearing

[00:02:36] daily sunscreen, which would be a 30 SPF or above,

[00:02:40] and you wanna make sure it's broad spectrum.

[00:02:42] So that would be something that covers for UVA.

[00:02:44] And we'll see that on the sunscreen?

[00:02:46] Yes, okay, okay.

[00:02:47] UVA, which would be aging rays,

[00:02:49] and it covers for UVB, the burning rays.

[00:02:52] And we also wanna be wearing sun protective clothing,

[00:02:55] so lightweight, long sleeve shirts, pants,

[00:02:59] Those broad-rimmed hats, sunglasses, and then making sure that we're just kind of seeking shade and trying to avoid those peak hours of 10 o'clock to 4 o'clock when the sun rays are at their strongest.

[00:03:11] And don't worry, you can still look fashionable and do sun protection.

[00:03:14] They have those great, you know, wide brim hats.

[00:03:16] I love them.

[00:03:17] They are perfect.

[00:03:18] You can be fashionable and still protect yourself.

[00:03:21] All right.

[00:03:21] So who needs a skin cancer screening?

[00:03:23] Because a lot of people may say, well, I don't need to do that.

[00:03:26] I don't lay out very often or I'm not in the sun.

[00:03:29] directly. Who needs a screening? We really recommend everybody get yearly full body skin

[00:03:34] examinations. We also encourage people to just be familiar with the skin they're in and know

[00:03:38] what their moles look like and kind of be monitoring for any changes on a monthly basis,

[00:03:42] but then coming in to get that professional screening once a year or more often if they have

[00:03:47] a personal history of skin cancer. And I know Leah, you guys at affiliated dermatology, you go to

[00:03:53] patients. You really want people to take control of their health. Yes, we want this service to be

[00:03:58] available to everyone. So if we have an older adult that's maybe at an assisted living or a

[00:04:02] retirement community that maybe finds it hard to make it into one of our offices, we will come to

[00:04:06] them. Yeah, she's a son watchdog. I'm telling you, she, you don't want to, you don't want to get

[00:04:10] her angry, because it's important. And if we have a mole or something we see that's a regular

[00:04:14] and we get it checked once, you said still follow up, right? Oh yes, yearly. We can be monitoring

[00:04:19] for changes in lesions. We can always do a biopsy or a check if it's something we're really

[00:04:24] concerned about. Great information. It's always a wonderful.

[00:04:28] Thank you so much. Okay, here's a special offer for all of you. Receive 15% off all sunscreens.

[00:04:34] Affiliated dermatology, they have eight valley-wide locations for your convenience. To book an appointment, please call 602-775-5025, or visit the website, AFFDerm.com slash TV-Skin-cancer.