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      • Epidural Blocks
      • Facet Joint Blocks
      • Facet joint Injections
      • Laser Therapies
      • Nerve Root Blocks
      • Neural Therapy
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      • Prolotherapy with Platelet Rich Plasma
      • Rhizotomy
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Dermatology and Mole Mapping

Dermatology Consults include

Dermatology Consults include a 60-minute consult/assessment with Dr. Chris Sladden, MBBch, FRCPC (Canadian and US Board Certified Dermatologist)

Dr. Sladden, shown left, has treated thousands of skin cancers throughout his career.

Consults can cover:

Skin Conditions

  • Acne
  • Psoriasis
  • Eczema
  • Sores that don't heal
  • Changing moles or spots

Skin Cancer Screening:

  • Mole Mapping

Nail Conditions:

  • Fungal Infections
  • Bacterial & Viral Infections
  • Subungual Melanomas

Skin cancer is curable if it is detected early enough.  The biggest risk factors are excessive exposure to sunlight and a family history.  

Thanks to state-of-the-art medical technology, we help you to keep an eye on your skin -- by means of a special skin cancer screening procedure.

FotoFinder Dermascope:

For State-of-the-Art Skin Cancer Screening

Most moles are non–cancerous or benign , but can sometimes evolve into skin cancer. Skin cancer is not only highly curable, but is also the most preventable form of cancer when detected early. By applying sun screen with a minimum of SPF 30 year round in combination with regular self mole checks and visits to your dermatologist, you can greatly reduce the risk of developing skin cancer.

mole mapping dermatologist

Mole mapping with the FotoFinder dermoscope is a newly available technology at the Welcome Back Upright MRI, Pain Management and Regenerative Medicine Clinic that will increase early detection of skin cancers. Clients can get their moles assessed and documented using this technology, which takes high quality images of all of your moles at a microscopic level.

The initial photo will be used as a reference for photos to be taken at future appointments. Even a slight change in colour or shape of a mole can be detected with this camera. The FotoFinder dermoscope is an excellent preventative tool and offers piece of mind for those with a history of skin cancer in the family, clients with multiple moles that appear irregular, or even clients who are concerned about their moles changing. Once images have been taken, they can be compared with new images time and time again.  Minute changes are immediately evident and can be diagnoses early on.

 

What is melanoma?

Melanoma is a kind of skin cancer. It isn't as common as other types of skin cancer, but it is the most serious. Melanoma can be a fickle condition and evade detection even by the most diligent of clients and physicians.  When melanoma and other skin cancers are detected and treated early on, there  are improved chances of a successful outcome. Melanoma usually looks like a flat mole with uneven edges and a shape that is not the same on both sides. It may be black, brown, or more than one colour. Most melanomas show up as a new spot or skin growth. But they can form in an existing mole or other mark on the skin. Melanoma can affect your skin only, or it may spread to your organs and bones. As with other cancers, treatment for melanoma works best when the cancer is found early. What we are talking about here is melanoma that occurs in the skin. It doesn't cover melanoma that occurs in the eye or in any other part of the body besides the skin.

What causes melanoma?

You can get melanoma by spending too much time in the sun. Too much UV radiation from sun exposure causes normal skin cells to become abnormal. These abnormal cells quickly grow out of control and attack the tissues around them. You are at higher risk for melanoma if you have fair skin, a family history of melanoma, or many abnormal, or atypical, moles. These moles may fade into the skin and have a flat part that is level with the skin. They may be smooth or slightly scaly, or they may look rough and "pebbly."

Risk factors for melanoma include the following:

  • Having a fair complexion, which includes the following:
  • Fair skin that freckles and burns easily, does not tan, or tans poorly.
    • Blue or green or other light-colored eyes.
    • Red or blond hair.
  • Being exposed to natural sunlight or artificial sunlight (such as from tanning beds) over long periods of time.
  • Being exposed to certain factors in the environment (in the air, your home or workplace, and your food and water).
    • Some of the environmental risk factors for melanoma are radiation, solvents, vinyl chloride, and PCBs.
  • Having a history of many blistering sunburns, especially as a child or teenager.
  • Having several large or many small moles.
  • Having a family history of unusual moles (atypical nevus syndrome).
  • Having a family or personal history of melanoma.
  • Being white.
  • Having a weakened immune system.
  • Having certain changes in the genes that are linked to melanoma.
  • Being white or having a fair complexion increases the risk of melanoma, but anyone can have melanoma, including people with dark skin.

What are the symptoms?

You may not have any symptoms in the early stages of melanoma. Or a melanoma may be sore, or it may itch or bleed.

Any change in the shape, size, or colour of a mole may be a sign of melanoma. Signs of melanoma include a change in the way a mole or pigmented area looks.

These and other signs and symptoms may be caused by melanoma or by other conditions. Check with your doctor if you have any of the following:

  1. A mole that:
    • changes in size, shape, or color.
    • has irregular edges or borders.
    • is more than one color.
    • is asymmetrical (if the mole is divided in half, the 2 halves are different in size or shape).
    • itches.
    • oozes, bleeds, or is ulcerated (a hole forms in the skin when the top layer of cells breaks down and the tissue below shows through).
  2. A change in pigmented (colored) skin.
  3. Satellite moles (new moles that grow near an existing mole).
dermatologist mole check

Melanoma may look like a flat, brown or black mole that has uneven edges. Melanomas usually have an irregular or asymmetrical shape. This means that one half of the mole doesn't match the other half. They may be any size but are usually 6 mm (0.25 in.) or larger.

Melanomas can be found anywhere on your body. Most of the time, they are on the upper back in men and women and on the legs of women.

How is melanoma diagnosed?

Your doctor will check your skin to look for melanoma. If your doctor thinks that you have melanoma, he or she will remove a sample of tissue (biopsy) from the area around the melanoma. Another doctor, called a pathologist, will look at the tissue to check for cancer cells.

If your biopsy shows melanoma, you may need to have more tests to find out if it has spread to your lymph nodes. It is important that abnormal areas of the skin not be shaved off or cauterized (destroyed with a hot instrument, an electric current, or a caustic substance) because cancer cells that remain may grow and spread.

How is it treated?

The most common treatment is surgery to remove the melanoma. That is all the treatment that you may need for early-stage melanomas that have not spread to other parts of your body.

Other treatments for melanoma include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy.

Can you prevent melanoma?

The best way to prevent all kinds of skin cancer, including melanoma, is to protect yourself whenever you are out in the sun.

  • Try to stay out of the sun during the middle of the day (from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
  • Wear sun-protective clothes when you are outside, such as a hat that shades your face, a long-sleeved shirt, and long pants.
  • Use sunscreen every day. Your sunscreen should have an SPF of least 30. Look for a sunscreen that protects against both types of UV radiation in the sun's rays—UVA and UVB. When you are outdoors for long periods of time, reapply sunscreen every 2 hours.
  • Take extra care to protect your skin when you're near water, at higher elevations, or in tropical climates.
  • Avoid sunbathing and tanning salons.

Check your skin every month for odd marks, moles, or sores that will not heal. Check all of your skin, but pay extra attention to areas that get a lot of sun, such as your hands, arms, and back. Ask your doctor to check your skin during regular physical examinations or at least once a year.

Early signs of skin cancer are a change in the skin, such as a growth, an irritation or a sore that does not heal, or a change in a wart or a mole.

Signs of melanoma:

The ABCDE rule of detection means watching for:

  • Asymmetry. One half of the mole doesn't match the other half.
  • Border irregularity. The edges are ragged, notched, or blurred.
  • Colour. The pigmentation is not uniform. Shades of tan, brown, and black are present. Dashes of red, white, and blue add to the mottled appearance. Changes in colour distribution, especially the spread of colour from the edge of a mole into the surrounding skin, also are an early sign of melanoma.
  • Diameter. The mole or skin growth is larger than 6 mm (0.2 in.), or about the size of a pencil eraser. Any growth of a mole should be of concern.
  • Evolution. There is a change in the size, shape, symptoms (such as itching or tenderness), surface (especially bleeding), or colour.

Other signs of melanoma in a mole include changes in:

  • Elevation, such as thickening or raising of a previously flat mole.
  • Surface, such as scaling, erosion, oozing, bleeding, or crusting.
  • Surrounding skin, such as redness, swelling, or small new patches of colour around a larger lesion (satellite pigmentations).
  • Sensation, such as itching, tingling, or burning.
  • Consistency, such as softening or small pieces that break off easily (friability).

Other signs of skin cancer:

Signs of skin cancer include:

  • A firm, transparent bump laced with tiny blood vessels in thin red lines (telangiectasias).
  • A reddish or irritated patch of skin.
  • A new, smooth skin bump (nodule) with a raised border and indented centre.
  • A smooth, shiny, or pearly bump that may look like a mole or cyst.
  • A shiny area of tight-looking skin, especially on the face, that looks like a scar and has poorly defined edges.
  • An open sore that oozes, bleeds, or crusts and has not healed in 3 weeks.
  • A persistent red bump on sun-exposed skin.
  • A sore that does not heal or an area of thickened skin on the lower lip, especially if you smoke or use chewing tobacco, or your lips are exposed to the sun and wind.

What To Think About:

Photographs may be used to document and detect changes in the skin, especially atypical moles. Some medical centres use computers to compare photographs taken at an earlier examination with new photographs of suspicious moles and lesions. This technique may more accurately determine whether a mole or lesion is changing.

Doctors don't have to do a biopsy to see if a lesion is benign (non-cancerous). They may use a dermoscope to see spots on the skin. This tool's special magnifying lens and light source help the doctor see the skin more clearly. Also, with a method called confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), doctors can look even more closely at changes in the cells and tissue of the skin.

Some experts think it's a good idea to check your own skin every month and have your doctor check periodically. People who are at risk for skin cancer or those who are over 40 years old may want to have their doctor check their skin every year. If you have already had skin cancer, your doctor will recommend more frequent examinations.

More Information:

  • Canadian Cancer Society
  • Skin Cancer Foundation - Melanoma
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