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Posted on June 5, 2012
Skin Cancer, Tanning

Q:  I've actively tanned for the last 11 years.  What are my chances of getting skin cancer now?  What's the chance of me getting skin cancer because I've been naturally tanning since I was 6.  I am 17 now?  What can I do to lower my future risk?  Is it too late??? A:  Intentional tanning will have certainly increased your risk, but its very difficult to put a number on it. You can't change the past, but you can exert control over your future.  So, what you want to do now is to make that behavior part of the past and take...

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Posted on June 1, 2012
Melanoma

Q:  I've had a melanoma that penetrated about 3 mm into the dermis of my leg. It was removed but micro cells were discovered in sentinel lymph node biopsies in my groin and knee. I went thru standard Interferon treatments and it's now been more than 6 years since my surgery to remove it from my leg. I do go to a Dermatologist annually and there are no obvious signs of recurrence. I feel fine but the survival statistics plus biopsies make it hard to forget that it could have spread and is lurking in places unknown. Is there anything...

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Posted on June 1, 2012
Dermatographism, Hives

Q: This sounds ridiculous, but anywhere I rub my skin or scratch it I get big welts and the more I rub it the bigger the welts get and the more it starts itching. I have tried different laundry soaps and body washes but the end results are always the same. Help! -patient from Longview WA A: This isn't ridiculous at all! What you are describing sounds like dermatographism: Its basically the ability to make hives or welts by rubbing.  Patients can pretty much play tic-tac-toe on their thigh if they wanted to. Its typically harmless, but it can really bother some patients,...

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Posted on May 29, 2012
Melanoma, Moles, Skin Cancer

Q: Read study done in Germany that links fathers to sons gene related to melanoma genesis in families. Any more research done on it yet? Reader from Vancouver, WA A: Many studies have shown a genetic link, and some of the responsible genes are known (and can be tested for), but these mutations are only responsible for a small number of melanomas. In 90% of melanomas, the genetic changes leading to cancer are somatic mutations, meaning that they were not inherited and developed from scratch in the affected person. Here is where it gets interesting: Exposure to ultraviolet light will generate many of these mutations. ...

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Posted on May 2, 2012
Practice News

We are finally moving to Issaquah and we have another little girl on the way.  As if that were not enough, I decided it was time to start my own practice. In order to get everything ready and still spend some time with my family, I am not seeing patients the next few months. However, if you would like to be contacted to schedule an appointment, please contact us here....

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Posted on May 1, 2012
Tanning

Q:  I am sixteen and I want to go tanning for prom.  I just dont know what to do-- whether spray tanning or in a bed tanning?  I know tanning in a bed causes cancer, but if I just go for like 2 weeks everyother day will it hurt? A: Yes, it will. Studies have shown that people who have NEVER gone to a tanning bed have less skin cancer than people who have EVER gone. Even just a few times. Ask around and find out who does good spray tans in your area. No ill health effects from a spray tan at all. Once...

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Posted on July 1, 2011
Melanoma, Tanning

Q: Is tanning occasionally (1-10 times a year) damaging to my skin?  I don't burn and have no family history of skin cancer? -Bothell, WA A:  Doesn't matter if you burn or not. The tanning response requires genetic damage to the DNA in your skin cells in order for tanning to happen. Even tanning 10 times a year raises the risk of melanoma by 34%. Tanning also dramatically accelerates the aging process in your skin by completely shutting down collagen production temporarily....

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