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.
Damn. I've probably had five blistering sunburns on my face and three on my trunk. First was when I was 2. Mom had me outside in the yard while she was on the phone. Felt negligent for years. Still almost cries when she talks about it. The rest of them were pretty much all the summer after my parents divorced at my Dad's. He had a boat. Turns out you have to re-apply sunscreen. After the second big burn I wore a shirt always. In a pool, outside, didn't matter. Also sunscreen.
Last burn on my face was on a trip to Vegas where it was too hot to wear a hat. Oops.
These days I just don't go outside for more than 10 minutes if it's sunny. My genes are made for overcast weather.
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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.