Skin Cancer

THE MOST COMMON OF ALL CANCERS

By H.L. Greenberg, M.D.

Fear is real and John stayed home for 2 years during the pandemic, not having the massive tumor on his arm evaluated because of his fear of contracting Covid.  John’s Basal Cell Skin Cancer was biopsied 1.5 years after it first started growing with an excisional biopsy.  During the Covid pandemic, I have seen many people like John who neglected the real and immediate medical concerns out of a fear of contracting Covid.  John’s tumor was one of the larger skin cancers that I have seen, and I cultured the area before I biopsied it as I presumed there to be an infection, which there was, Citrobacter and Staph Aureus.  If you want to see our initial visit, it can be viewed here.

Options for John’s Basal Cell cancer treatment included:  radiation, Mohs micrographic surgery, standard excision and topical fluorouracil cream; he opted for the cream.  Although it now appears that John’s tumor is completely resolved, another series of smaller biopsies may be necessary to document clearance given the large initial tumor size.  To see where John’s arm is now, you can view his visit here.

Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers, in fact, when counting cancers, skin cancer is many times left off the list as it is more common than Breast, Colon, Lung and Prostate cancer combined.  If you have a suspicious skin lesion, don’t just let it go, come in and be evaluated.  During the Pandemic, Dr. David Cotter and I gave a Derm Bros® lecture on skin cancer, from evaluation to treatment, which can be viewed here.

At Las Vegas Dermatology, we have 3 Board Certified Dermatologists and 2 aestheticians- laser trained.  Make your appointment for great looking skin today at lvderm.com.

Dr. H.L. Greenberg is a Board Certified Dermatologist, Founder of Las Vegas Dermatology and ½ of the DermBros.  He enjoys making dermatology videos, and the /lvderm YouTube channel, which has over 17,000 subscribers and 4 million views, he blogs monthly under the pseudonym, “Dr. Vegas” and in his spare time, Dr. Greenberg travels, and runs half marathons.  The goal of his practice is to assist others in their quest “For a Healthier and More Beautiful Life.”

The following images may be disturbing for some readers.