Skin check
However much we love the sun, it carries numerous risks. As with a tanning bed, UV radiation from the sun impacts deeply on all types of skin cancer and accelerates skin ageing. Luckily, however, most skin cancers can be cured if they are detected and treated early on. This means that prevention through regular check-ups is hugely important. A skin check with subsequent follow-ups by us will give you peace of mind in the knowledge that any damage to your skin will be diagnosed in time and you will be given state-of-the-art treatment.
Benign skin lesions
Birthmarks
There are many benign changes to your skin, some of which pose purely cosmetic issues. These include various types of birthmarks, fibromas (connective tissue tumours), lipomas (fatty-tissue tumours), etc. After detailed examination they can all be treated professionally with the right modalities. Some benign birthmarks may be removed using a laser.
It is particularly important to check birthmarks, not only because malignant melanomas, as they are termed, may look deceptively like birthmarks, but also because the type and number of birthmarks may be used to assess an individual’s risk of forming new melanomas.
Malignant skin lesions
Melanomas
The correct medical term for melanoma skin cancer is malignant melanoma. In 90% of cases, this type of skin cancer arises from pigment-forming skin cells. Melanomas can be cured if they are discovered, and surgically removed, in time. But, should they be discovered too late, they may spread (metastasize), and for this there is no definitive treatment option at present. Therefore, early diagnosis is of fundamental importance. In order to ensure that a melanoma is diagnosed quickly, attention must be given to any existing birthmarks that itch, bleed, or change colour and shape, as well as to rapidly forming, prominent, new birthmarks.
Basalioma/spinalioma/actinic keratosis
In most cases, the skin tumors referred to as "light" skin cancer are harmless and curable. By far the most common cause of basaliomas and spinaliomas today is skin exposure to chronic, long-term solar radiation. This also explains why these skin tumours tend to arise on those parts of the body not usually covered by clothing but exposed to direct sunlight (head, face and hands). Spinaliomas and basaliomas, in particular, may present with a wide variety of shapes and characteristics. In most cases, the lump-like and ulcerated variants are easily identifiable. Other symptoms include yellowish crusts and red patches, and flakes resembling sandpaper, evidence more likely for actinic keratosis, a precursor to skin cancer.
There are various treatment options for skin tumours. Surgery is not always necessary, and photodynamic therapy will often be the ideal way to remove superficial skin cancer and its precursors with excellent results.