Ever had a full body skin scan? How 15 minutes could save your life

Dr. Laura Buford, a Dripping Springs dermatologist, recommends a body scan at least once a year, unless the patient or their family has a history of skin cancer. “It usually takes 15 minutes, is virtually painless and it’s covered by most insurance, so it costs only the co-pay.

“This exam includes looking at the patient’s skin, head to toe, including their hair, fingernails and toenails,” the dermatologist said, “and this exam can uncover other problems. For example, sometimes scaley skin patches may indicate psoriasis. There’s a condition of skin around the neck that could signal diabetes. By looking at the nails, we can see any indicators for liver, kidney or lung disease and thinning or changes in texture of your hair might tell us you have thyroid disease.”

She said she began reminding patients about getting their annual fullbody scans after returning to her practice recently from maternity leave. “I was seeing more patients with melanoma than I had seen before and, frankly, it was unnerving.”

Dr. Buford recalled one patient, who chose a skin scan randomly, just to fulfill an insurance requirement. “She came to my office, saying she had no concerns, no family history of skin problems and was there only because her insurance required her to see a specialist of some kind.”

The doctor began the exam, which only takes 10-15 minutes, and found nothing until she examined the patient’s back and found a suspicious area, which she biopsied.

“When the biopsy came back with a diagnosis of melanoma, we began treatment immediately. Caught in the early stages, most skin cancers can be treated in 99% of the cases,” the dermatologist explained.

There are two types of skin cancers -- non-melanoma, which include basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma.

The doctor said if melanoma is diagnosed early, (while it still involves only the top layer of skin), it can be removed, surgically, making sure it has all been removed from the skin and underlying layers.

However, if the melanoma is allowed to grow -- beyond 7mm into the skin -- it requires a surgical oncologist to remove the deeper growth and also biopsy adjacent lymph nodes. In advanced cases, melanoma will impact other organs as well as lymph nodes.

Recommending a selfexam every month to detect anything new or any changes of the skin or a mole, Dr. Buford also encourages knowing and following the ABCDE rule as a guide to the usual signs of melanoma. Be on the lookout and tell your doctor about spots that have any of the following features:

A is for Asymmetry: One half of a mole or birthmark does not match the other.

B is for Border: The edges are irregular, ragged, notched, or blurred.

C is for Color: The color is not the same all over and may include different shades of brown or black, or sometimes with patches of pink, red, white, or blue.

D is for Diameter: The spot is larger than 6 millimeters across (about ¼ inch – the size of a pencil eraser), although melanomas can sometimes be smaller.

E is for Evolving: The mole is changing in size, shape, or color.

Some melanomas don’t fit these rules. It’s important to tell your doctor about any changes or new spots on the skin, or growths that look different from the rest of your moles.

At the end of my interview, Dr. Buford shared information that was new and somewhat shocking to me, saying indoor tanning often becomes addictive because, just like being out in the sun, tanning beds/ lamps create endorphins (the feel-good hormones) like the ones you get from running, biking, swimming or working out at the gym. Tanning is addictive? Who knew? But, if you recall, sun exposure not only prematurely ages the skin but can cause skin cancers…even melanoma.

Think about it. Only 15 minutes, costing only your co-pay. How easy can it get? But a full-body exam could save your life.