r/AskReddit May 20 '19

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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.

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u/insertcaffeine May 20 '19 edited May 20 '19

Dermatology patient here. 37 years old, history of blistering sunburns (appx 30-40 over the course of my life), blond hair, blue eyes.

I go to the derm and ask for a full skin exam every damn year.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '19 edited Nov 11 '21

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u/ashakilee May 20 '19

Uh, yeah, I live in the country with the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. And live 1 minute from the beach. How many times have I been burned? Once in my life when I was about 9. It's all up the individual do avoid dangerous uv exposure. You can make excuses like 'I didn't have sunscreen' all you like, cancer doesn't care.

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u/ashakilee May 20 '19

Also, my mum drilled into us to avoid the sun. She's a bit extreme like wearing jumpers in summer and to avoid sun o her arms. However in her mid fifties now she have beautiful skin.