While we at Maine Laser Skin Care work daily to “Beautify Maine One Face (And Body) at a Time”, we also use our decades of expertise in skin care to monitor your skin for any abnormalities that could indicate skin cancer or precancerous lesions. May is the month that is officially designated as Skin Cancer Awareness Month, as it is the month when most of the American population starts get outside more and expose our skin to the sun.
As always, our position is that prevention is the best medicine, both in terms of the aging effects of the sun and of its power to cause DNA damage in skin cells. The DNA changes from long-ago sunburns can convert into precancerous cells, and later skin cancer.
Skin cancer is the Number One most common cancer in the United States. The most common varieties of skin cancer include squamous cell, basal cell, and melanoma.
If caught in early stages, all three of these varieties can be removed or excised. If they are detected later, more extensive surgical procedures may be needed. In the case of melanoma, internal metastatic spread and death can even occur.
Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen is repeated multiple times every day at Maine Laser Skin Care, and for good reason. We cannot undo all of the past effects of the sun on your skin, although we try our best with some amazing technologies.
However, we and you together can prevent future damage through protection of your largest organ: your skin. We know we sound like broken records sometimes, but we do it for a good cause: your skin health and appearance.
We will not treat a skin lesion that we feel is suspicious with laser until it has been biopsied first. We will also alert you to suspicious lesions if we see them in the course of our assessment of your skin for aesthetic reasons.
We are here for you, your skin, and your health. Throughout this month, we at Maine Laser Skin Care will present more information about skin cancer in our newsletter, blog, and social media channels to educate and inform you.
Stay safe out in the sun. Have fun, but protect yourself!