Don’t Ignore Skin Cancer in the Midst of Other Health Concerns

The WesternDermatology Consultants team cares about health. It’s why our board-certifieddermatologists offer medical services, including skin cancer detection, for Albuquerque-area patients. In light of the March 25“shelter in place” order for New Mexico, “nonessential” surgeries and otherprocedures have been put on hiatus—but this ban is waived in cases that wouldjeopardize a patient’s life. That means three things for our patients: Our spais closed, our dermatology office is still providing “TeleMed” visits forremote care, and we are still able to treat urgent issues in our offices.

There areobviously a lot of health concerns right now in the community, the country, andthe entire world. With so much focus on a single, specific problem—in thiscase, COVID-19—it can be easy to push aside thoughts of other medical issues.But even though a respiratory pandemic is in seemingly every headline, we wantto remind you that skin health remains as vitally important as always.

In other words,if you have a potentially pressing medical issue, such as a melanoma, do nothesitate to talk to a qualified medical professional to determine how best toproceed. Melanoma is a particularly fast-moving and deadly cancer, so it iscrucial to identify it and begin treatment as soon as possible.

Note that we aretaking precautions with the health and safety of our patients, staff, andcommunity in mind. If you have a fever, cough, shortness or breath, or othersymptoms associated with COVID-19 or the flu, please call us before coming intoour offices for your urgent care, and we can work together to determine what todo next.

Know that we arecontinuing to practice excellent hygiene, cleaning, and sterilization routines,as per our usual standards and in following national recommendations andguidelines.

We also encourageeveryone to commit to proper hygiene practices at home: Use soap and water toroutinely wash your hands, especially after touching surfaces or handling itemsoutside the home. If there are no products or facilities available to allow you20 to 30 seconds of thorough hand washing, apply hand sanitizer (minimum 60percent alcohol), especially before touching other objects, such as keys, a cardoor, or a front door. Then, wash your hands at the next available opportunity.Also, avoid touching your face as much as possible.

To get answersto other skincare and hygiene questions, contact our team at Albuquerque’s WesternDermatology Consultants bycalling 505.855.9267 or reaching out online.