How can a skin cancer screening benefit you?
Skin cancer is prevalent and can be life-threatening. The good news is that when caught early, skin cancer is treatable, but the key is early detection. The best early detection is to turn to our Delray Beach, FL, dermatologist Dr. Yvette Tivoli for a comprehensive skin exam. She will look for lesions and suspicious growths that could show signs of cancer or precancer.
What Is a Preventive Skin Screening?
Our Delray Beach, FL, dermatologist performs preventive skin screenings for early detection of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. This screening involves examining your skin all over your body, from your scalp to between your toes, and evaluating any growths, moles or spots that might be suspicious. Your dermatologist may also use a dermatoscopy, which helps take a closer look at the growth to make sure it isn’t cancerous.
Our dermatologist will tell you when you need to come back to the office for another screening, especially if Dr. Tivoli monitors any unusual spots. If a suspicious growth is found, a biopsy may be needed.
How Often Should I Get One?
While you should be evaluating your skin at least once a month, it’s important that you are also coming into our practice so that our Delray Beach, FL, dermatologist can examine your skin at least once a year. If you have had skin cancer in the past, our team may recommend coming in more regularly for screenings.
What Are the Risk Factors for Skin Cancer?
While everyone needs to come in for a comprehensive skin screening, this is particularly true if you have certain risk factors that predispose you to skin cancer,
- You burn easily
- You have fair skin
- You have light eyes and hair
- You have a family history of melanoma
- You have a history of melanoma
- You’ve had sunburns in the past
- You’ve used a tanning bed
- You don’t wear sunscreen regularly when outdoors
- You have more than 50 moles
- You spend prolonged time in the sun
Nothing is more important than early skin cancer detection, which means turning to our Delray Beach, FL, dermatologists once a year for a checkup. To schedule a skin cancer screening, call Atlantic Derm at (561) 802-7546.