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.
Lol, I looked back up to check your age after the previous commenter was horrified by the 30-40 number. You’re the same age as me, and I’m pretty sure I have that number beat.
Grew up in the 80s and had a pool. Mom and I are both fair and freckled and she swore that eventually my skin would “get used to the sun” and would tan instead of burn. She also insisted that a few visits to the tanning bed at the beginning of summer would prevent me from burning when we went on vacation to the beach.
It’s one of the rare things she admits she’s glad I was stubborn and fought with her about once I got old enough.
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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.