- The WHO states that each year between two and three million cases of skin cancer occur globally.
- The most dangerous form is melanoma and every year it produces at least 773 deaths in Mexico.
- The project is not intended for tattoo artists to replace the invaluable work of specialist doctors, but rather to be allies in the fight against this malignant tumor.
Tattoo studios have gained popularity in our country. New spaces are inaugurated every day throughout the territory and beyond creating canvases for users, they could also have another use. Due to the work they do, they could be of support for identify possible cases of skin cancer.
In this sense, several studies suggest that getting procedures such as tattoos on top of a mole could hide the presence of melanoma. It is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and from which 773 Mexicans die each year.
Tattoo artists and dermatologists can be allies
For this reason, tattoo artists are very important in the fight against skin cancer. Being in direct contact with the skin, the largest organ in the body, they could perceive a suspicious lesion and encourage their clients to visit a dermatologist or an oncologist, who are the ones to treat it.
With this in mind, the biopharmaceutical Bristol Myers Squibb Mexico (BMS) announced that the Mexican Society of Dermatological and Oncological Surgery (SMCDO), AC, and Industrias Lavin de México join their social responsibility program #BuscaElPunto. The objective is to alert about the signs of skin cancer to contribute to a timely diagnosis and treatment.
He Dr. José Manuel Celaya VelázquezMedical Director of BMS, explained that melanoma occurs due to mutations in melanocytes, cells that produce a pigment that gives skin its color called melanin. It can also originate anywhere and spread to other parts of the body (metastasis).
“Tattoo artists who basically work with this organ are in a unique position to find the appearance of a mole, sore, bump, mark or unusual change in the appearance of the skin2, being able to see large and small areas that are often difficult to see. self explore as back, neck, soles of the feet, under the nails, mouth and genitals. Beyond the aesthetic, this practice could help save lives.”
Keys to identify suspicious cases
With training on the ABCDE rule, which consists of identifying if a mole or spot has: A (Asymmetry), B (Uneven edges), C (Color is not uniform), D (Diameter. The mole measures more than 6 millimeters) and E (Evolution. Size and shape are changing), the president of SMCDO, Dr. Patricia Carmona Contreras, indicated that the campaign does not intend for these artists to replace the invaluable work of the specialist doctor, but rather to be allies in the fight against this malignant tumor. .
He emphasized that the prognosis for a cure will depend on early detection and adequate treatment. Favorably, today there are different options that, depending on the stage, location and general health of the patient, may consist of surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. The latter helps the immune system detect and fight cancer.
While Renata Martínez Lavin Castañeda, Marketing Director of Industrias Lavin de México, indicated that with this they will reinforce the importance of using sunscreen, since exposure to UV radiation from the sun or from artificial sources such as tanning beds at an early age conditions its increase during adult life, an example of this is that the general mortality in Mexico from melanoma and other skin cancers (from 2000 to 2019) increased by more than 50%.
In addition, there are other risk factors such as having many moles, very white skin, freckles, a weak immune system, and a first-degree family history.
Finally, the specialists commented that tattoo artists will provide information on their social networks and in their studios to protect the skin every day and after having or retouching a tattoo.
Although there is no higher prevalence of skin cancer In tattooed people, it is never a good idea to have this procedure done too close to or on a mole. For this reason, the idea is to provide them with information so that they can help their clients and motivate them to go to the doctor to be checked on time.
Also read:
Melanoma, the skin cancer with the highest increase among young people
Skin cancer, the tumor with the highest growth in mortality rate
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