I'm a dermatologist — these easily overlooked signs on your skin may indicate cancer
A Harvard-trained dermatologist warns that some benign-seeming blemishes could be cancerous.
Dr. Daniel Sugai urges patients with persistent pimples that last longer than a month to seek treatment.
'If you have a pimple that won't go away in four weeks, please see your dermatologist,' he said this week on TikTok.
3 Dr. Daniel Sugai urges patients with persistent pimples that last longer than a month to seek treatment.
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Another sign it's time to get checked? Spots that bleed.
'Another complaint I hear patients say is that, 'I just washed my face and there's this one spot that keeps bleeding and it does this bleed-scab cycle,' ' said Sugai, who is based in the Seattle area.
'If you have a spot that's not fully healing or is very fragile with gentle trauma, like washing your face, definitely see your dermatologist.'
Sugai shared that both symptoms could be signs of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common type of cancer. Some 3.6 million Americans are diagnosed with BCC each year, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
As the name implies, this skin cancer starts in basal cells, which produce new skin cells as the old ones die off, according to the Mayo Clinic.
'I diagnose these every day, and I actually treat them surgically every day,' said Sugai.
BCCs develop 'tree-like blood vessels' to aid their growth, making them especially prone to bleeding.
BCC can manifest as a pimple that doesn't appear to heal, a shiny, skin-colored bump, a white or waxy lesion, a flat, scaly patch or a lesion that is black, brown or blue.
Addressing patients of color, Sugai noted that BCC commonly presents as pigmented.
'It's usually hyperpigmented with some red mixed in, and with time, it will start to be an eroded plaque that will bleed easily,' he said.
According to Sugai, the first two decades of life are absolutely critical for sun protection.
'Getting those sunburns early on in life will definitely affect how healthy your DNA is later on in life.'
3 Basal cell carcinomas develop 'tree-like blood vessels' to aid their growth, making them especially prone to bleeding.
TikTok / @drspf
Still, he said, late is better than never when it comes to preventative measures.
'If you're starting late in the sunscreen game, it's never too late,' Sugai advised. 'Keep wearing your sunscreen because we don't wanna overwhelm our skin with DNA mutations that are induced from the sun.'
Like other types of skin cancer, BCCs can develop later in life, after years of sun exposure, and the treatment typically involves cutting the affected area out of the skin entirely.
It's common to see this type of cancer pop up where the sun hits your skin — neck, arms, face and head — but that doesn't mean other parts of your body can't get it.
3 Some 3.6 million Americans are diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma each year, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
TikTok / @drspf
'You can also get skin cancer where the sun doesn't shine — yes, like around your vulva or penis,' Dr. Fatima Fahs, a board-certified dermatologist and skin care expert based in Michigan, previously told The Post.
'Even though it might sound embarrassing, if there's a new 'pimple' or sore that won't heal, it's worth going to see a doctor.'
What's more, Fahs added, your hands and nails aren't exempt either.
'New dark streaks or growths in and around the nails should always be evaluated, too,' she said. 'Melanoma of the nail bed is possible and can be more deadly.'
Experts like Sugai and Fahs recommend that people be screened for skin cancer annually, or more often if they are at higher risk.
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