F L O W O O D , M I S S I S S I P P I
Thank goodness it's summer, and we're hoping that everyone is wearing their SPF. Incorporating SPF into your daily skin routine should be a MUST. You know what else needs to be added into your annual wellness checks? Skin Cancer Screenings! This is not a joke, y'all. It's so important to regularly get your skin checked to prevent skin cancer.
What is a skin cancer screening? A skin cancer screening is a visual exam of the skin that can be done by a dermatologist, like the amazing crew at Belle Meade Medical Dermatology! The screening checks the skin for moles, birthmarks, or other marks that are unusual in color, size, shape, or texture. Certain unusual marks may be signs of skin cancer.
If you have a changing mole or skin lesion, especially if it’s asymmetric, has irregular borders, uneven color, a diameter greater than 5 mm, and it’s changing or growing (evolving), you should have a full body screening exam for skin cancers. *Routine skin examinations/screenings are performed daily by all the dermatology providers.
To help you prepare and make the most of your appointment skincancer.org tells us to follow these five simple steps.
1. Perform a self-exam and come to your appointment prepared with notes about any new, changing or unusual spots you want to point out to your dermatologist. If you've taken photos of a spot that has changed over time, be sure to show them to your dermatologist.
2. Remove nail polish from your fingers and toes to enable thorough examination of fingers, nails and nail beds, since skin cancers can form there.
3. Wear your hair loose. Remove pony tails, buns or hair clips so your doctor can get a good look at your scalp where skin cancers can, and do, develop.
4. Pack makeup remover to bring to your appointment and remove any makeup before your exam that the skin around your eyes is easy to examine.
5. Ask questions. This is your opportunity to get valuable advice and insight from a professional trained specifically in diseases of the skin. From explanations of unfamiliar terms to pointers on how to do a skin self- exam, your doctor is an excellent source of information.
Belle Meade has some of the best staff in the area to help keep you healthy and safe all year around.
What is a skin cancer screening? A skin cancer screening is a visual exam of the skin that can be done by a dermatologist, like the amazing crew at Belle Meade Medical Dermatology! The screening checks the skin for moles, birthmarks, or other marks that are unusual in color, size, shape, or texture. Certain unusual marks may be signs of skin cancer.
If you have a changing mole or skin lesion, especially if it’s asymmetric, has irregular borders, uneven color, a diameter greater than 5 mm, and it’s changing or growing (evolving), you should have a full body screening exam for skin cancers. *Routine skin examinations/screenings are performed daily by all the dermatology providers.
To help you prepare and make the most of your appointment skincancer.org tells us to follow these five simple steps.
1. Perform a self-exam and come to your appointment prepared with notes about any new, changing or unusual spots you want to point out to your dermatologist. If you've taken photos of a spot that has changed over time, be sure to show them to your dermatologist.
2. Remove nail polish from your fingers and toes to enable thorough examination of fingers, nails and nail beds, since skin cancers can form there.
3. Wear your hair loose. Remove pony tails, buns or hair clips so your doctor can get a good look at your scalp where skin cancers can, and do, develop.
4. Pack makeup remover to bring to your appointment and remove any makeup before your exam that the skin around your eyes is easy to examine.
5. Ask questions. This is your opportunity to get valuable advice and insight from a professional trained specifically in diseases of the skin. From explanations of unfamiliar terms to pointers on how to do a skin self- exam, your doctor is an excellent source of information.
Belle Meade has some of the best staff in the area to help keep you healthy and safe all year around.
- Dr. Shatley has been very professional, caring, and personal, I trust her completely. She is very thorough about checking me for skin cancers and done a fantastic job getting rid of my forehead wrinkles. In short, I love Dr. Shatley! ~ BP
- I am so grateful to have had Dr. Shatley recommended to me to look at a suspicious mole. She became my "go to" Dermatologist on that first visit. And on the 2nd visit I "happened" to mention how I was struggling with arthritis in my hand. She told me that she just happened to know a good rheumatologist who happened to share her office, her husband, Dr. McMurray. She brought him in and he diagnosed me then and there. And the rest, as they say, is history. I'm with them to the end. ~ Sally
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