Tag Archives: biopsy
Melanoma: The Bare Essentials
Melanoma is a skin cancer that begins in skin cells called melanocytes. These cells produce the pigment that provides your skin’s color. If this process becomes disorganized and unregulated, the result is an abnormal collection of melanocytes, also known as a melanoma. Malignant means that it has the potential to spread to healthy tissues and organs within your body. Continue reading
Taking Aim at Skin Cancer
One of the most critical decisions a dermatologist can make is whether a mark on a patient’s skin might be melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Until now, doctors have been forced to rely largely on their own vision, sometimes aided by a dermascope — a hand-held magnifying glass with a light to illuminate the skin area — to decide whether a spot or wart merits a biopsy. It involves a lot of guesswork — and untold numbers of unnecessary biopsies. Continue reading