Jun 19, 2009 3:08 pm US/Mountain
Technology Offers Relief For Skin Cancer Patients
Written for the Web by CBS4 Special Projects Producer Libby Smith
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) ―
Skin cancer is striking in younger and younger people. The American Society of Dermatologic Surgeons reports that melanoma is the second most common cancer in women age 20 to 29.
When it comes to screening for skin cancer, doctors want to make sure that any lesion or mole on the skin that looks suspicious is caught early. That leads to a lot of surgery. Doctors commonly biopsy the mole or cut it out of the skin to find out whether it's cancerous.
Doctors at the University of Colorado Hospital are using mole mapping technology to cut down on the need for biopsies.
"It's really reserved for those patients that have too many moles to evaluate or those who have a suspicious lesion," said Dr. Theresa Pacheco, Dermatologist at the University of Colorado Hospital.
Doctors use a common Dermatoscope to look at the moles and take a picture of them.
"That magnifies the lesion… allows you to look at the surface and a little bit under the surface, so it gives you a magnified way of looking at the mole," Pacheco explained.
What's unique about the system at the University of Colorado Hospital is that it works with computer software that maps the mole - recording size, color, and contours. Doctors can that use the software to track the changes in a mole without removing it.
This technology is commonly used in Europe but it's not very widespread in the United States.
"Insurance does not reimburse this effort," Pacheco told CBS4.
Even without the insurance stamp of approve, Pacheco believes this technology is very beneficial for certain patients. Nicole Wissman agrees. She's been battling skin cancer concerns for 10 years.
"I never thought this would be an issue," Wissman said.
It started with a melanoma. She's also had a basil cell and 160 biopsies of moles that looked suspicious.
"It's been rough, but I've learned my body over the years. So I knew exactly what to look for and how to protect it," Wissman told CBS4.
She has so many moles that need tracking that she's a perfect candidate for the mole mapping technology. She gets them checked every six months.
"We did remove a mole in the last six months in her, so it's not that she' devoid of ever having a surgery again. We're just doing surgery less on her," Pacheco said.
"I think it's wonderful," Wissman added.
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