Dr. Lucian Russu, dermatologist at the clinic Bioderm from Bucharest and founder of MayDay Melanoma Association, an association that fights skin cancer, has organized a free mole testing campaign this summer, and the balance is worrying.
“This summer, The Mobile Dermatoscopy Unit ran for a week in the Youth Park, one of the largest skin cancer prevention campaigns nationwide.
In this campaign, we performed free dermatoscopes for 1,810 people who crossed our threshold and identified, in just seven days, no less than 22 suspected melanoma, 48 suspected cases of other skin cancers and 300 dysplasias, ie moles with a risk of transformation into malignant lesions.
A dramatic balance, which sounds a strong alarm and confirms once again that without an organized screening program, nationally, the number of skin cancer cases continues to grow rapidly“, explained the doctor for Ziare.com.
See when you need to worry about moles and how to self-evaluate them correctly
“Even if a dermatoscopy cannot make a diagnosis, it can only be made after a biopsy, practice has shown us that the suspicion of skin cancer raised by dermatoscopy has been confirmed in 99 patients out of 100,” added the specialist.
Dr. Lucian Russu believes that we have “around us more cases of skin cancer than we could imagine,” given that 15 years ago there was only one case of melanoma per year, and now, in a few days , dozens of potential cases were discovered during this campaign.
“Indeed, in recent decades, the frequency of melanoma has increased more than 15 times, affecting more and more young people. If until a few years ago we did not even look at the moles of young people, now we look very carefully even at moles of children aged 10-11 “, the specialist mentioned.
This situation is caused by repeated exposure to the sun, without protection products, but also by climate change and the use of solariums.
It is true, however, that these skin conditions are now more easily diagnosed. Greater accuracy of diagnostic methods helps doctors detect more cases of skin cancer than ever before.
Read on why is another type of cancer related to moles
“The good news is that melanoma, the most aggressive form of cancer, can be cured if it is detected and treated in the early stages, when it is located only in the superficial layer of the skin. In the more advanced stages, however, melanoma can spread or metastasize. hematogenous (through the blood) or lymphatic (through the lymph), and the chances of survival are slim “, the doctor told us.
In recent years, there have been numerous campaigns to prevent skin cancer, but this is a very small step, because people need to be more than informed.
“Most of the campaigns so far have been aimed at informing about skin cancer, which is commendable. Information is a mandatory condition, you can’t do anything without information. But in order to have results, to really succeed in We reduce the incidence of skin cancer, it takes more than information.
To change behaviors, we must to go to people, to convince them on their own, literally, why testing is needed. And we have tried this and we will continue to do such free mole testing campaigns through the MayDay Melanoma Association, because many Romanians do not really know how to test, they have never heard of dermatoascopy, an investigation that can change them. life in a few seconds, although in other countries it has been the gold standard for several decades “, the doctor also told us.
The problem is that dermatoscopy is not an investigation settled by CNAS. “In state hospitals, dermatologists continue to monitor the moles / lesions of magnifying glass patients. And if experienced doctors can see suspicions with a magnifying glass, and this does not offer any certainty, this is not true for doctors without the necessary experience, who do not have too many such diagnoses. In addition, the magnifying glass can ‘escape’ certain injuries that can cost the patient his life, “said Dr. Lucian Russu.
Digital dermatoscopy is a procedure without which dermatologists can no longer work, even if at first not everyone immediately embraced this method.
“17 years ago, when we introduced, for the first time in Romania, digital dermatoscopy, including doctors, colleagues of ours, they were skeptical that it would be useful. Today, we can no longer function without digital dermatooscopy. Therefore, we founded the Association Melanoma MayDay, to further this fight against melanoma, the most aggressive type of skin cancer, and against other forms of skin cancers, “the doctor pointed out.
The initiative of the Melanoma MayDay Association will continue in September, in Ploiesti, with a campaign to raise awareness of the danger of skin cancer. Before addressing the general public, as happened this summer, the association went to the headquarters of some companies or state institutions (Ford, Official Monitor, Orange, Ministry of Health, CF2 Hospital, American School, Romanian Television, Romatsa, Cummings Generators, British American Tobacco, Arctic, ISPH, Ministry of Transport, CNADNR, One to One Nursing Home, etc.), to perform employee dermatoscopes.
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