STOP LYING BRUCE JENNER!!! Do not be fooled-- a basal cell cancer is NOT a melanoma!

Bruce Jenner after MOHS Surgery

Learn about the different types of skin cancer so you can be an informed and objective reader and never be duped again.

Bruce Jenner Undergoes Surgery for Skin Cancer: I Will "Continue to Fight"

Bruce Jenner: I Have Skin Cancer

Bruce Jenner DOES NOT have Melanoma. I repeat, Bruce Jenner does NOT have melanoma. 

Now, I knew the Kardashians were a dramatic bunch... but apparently they managed to bring Bruce down with them. I just CAN'T with the misinformation, the misleading, the lying, the dramatics, and the sheer irresponsible behavior! This was all fun and games until they just straight up lied about skin cancer-- now you're messing with me and I am not cool with this. A melanoma diagnosis is a very serious thing and to falsely claim to have a melanoma is extremely irresponsible and insensitive. 

Not all skin cancers are created equal, in fact, there are many different types of skin cancers that all look different and all have different consequences and prognoses. Not all skin cancers are melanomas and not all melanomas are malignant! Be informed and know what to look for!

The three most common forms of skin cancer are:

1. Basal Cell Carcinoma -- the most common cancer in humans and the most common skin cancer

2. Squamous Cell Carcinoma -- rarely metastasize

3. Melanoma -- can metastasize and become very dangerous and fatal 

Bruce Jenner was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma and was essentially cured of it once he had a MOHS surgery. Basal cell carcinomas are actually the most common cancer of all in humans-- and they are NOT AT ALL related to the M-word. 

So here's a little bit of information of each one of the NON- MELANOMA skin cancers I mentioned above. Let's start with the type of skin cancer Bruce Jenner had--

Basal Cell Carcinoma

1. Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCCs)

• are NON-melanoma skin cancers that come from basal cells (small, round cells found in the lower layer of the epidermis)
• the prognosis is EXCELLENT
• they occur mostly on the face (especially the nose), scalp, neck and hands
• they are SLOW growing and can be present for several years before they even become problematic
• Patients will often say they have a slowly enlarging bump that will sometimes bleeds when rubbed-- in fact, some patients think its a pimple that just wont go away! 
• The most common type of BCC looks like a small, pearly, dome-shaped bump
• There are many different ways to treat BCCs-- all with excellent prognoses. You can even put cream on them to treat them!
• Sometimes when a BCC is located on the face, scalp, hands, and shins the best treatment with the best cure rate is something called a Mohs surgery-- a special type of surgery that is performed by a Dermatologist with extra training
• BCCs are very superficial skin cancers that rarely ever metastasize and are not considered that dangerous-- they can just evade the surrounding skin and ulcerate if left untreated for a long period of time

2. Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC)

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

• the second most common form of skin cancer
• they come from the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells arising from the squamous cells which compose most the epidermis
• they rarely metastasize-- but can be locally invasive if left untreated
• they most commonly look like scaly red patches or bump-- and can even look like a wart!
• they are caused from cumulative UV exposure over many years-- but they can also arise in mucous membranes like the genitals and mouth
• they usually come from precancers called Actinic Keratoses (actinic means 'from the sun') which are just red, scaly, patches of sundamaged skin
• Just like BCCs, there are many different treatments available-- including Mohs, laser treatments, creams, and liquid nitrogen sprays
• All the treatments have an excellent prognosis
• Not all SCCs are slow growing-- some can just pop up out of nowhere and grow very rapidly-- but luckily these types are not as dangerous

If you ever do have a skin cancer you want it to be a basal cell carcinoma. Its the least dangerous of the bunch and the surgery Bruce Jenner had is the standard of care and has a 99% cure rate over 5 years. Basal cells can be hard to spot since they can look like a little pimple, an ant bite, or even an enlarged pore-- but in general, anything that just isn't going away or bleeds should be checked by a professional just to make sure. In fact, I just diagnosed a patient with a BCC after it took me about 5 minutes to convince him to let me take a biopsy because he was convinced it was only a cut from his razor!

Bruce Jenner is the boy who cried wolf-- and while I appreciate that he's helping with skin cancer awareness in general-- its still incredibly irresponsible and misleading to go around saying you have something as serious as a melanoma.

These stupid bumps on my arm look like permanent goose bumps!! What gives?!

When you run your fingers over the back of your arms (or legs) do you feel a bunch of little bumps that wont go away? Well you probably have a very common and genetic disorder called Keratosis Pilaris (KP). What you're feeling is extra keratin around your hair follicles and its often associated with other conditions of dry skin such as eczema. Most people don't even know that this condition has a medical designation with a treatment!

This is a very common disorder that affects between 50-80% of young people and will often get better as we get older. But some people will have it throughout their lives and in general it can also get worse during the winter months as our skin tends to get dryer.

This disorder is not serious at all, its just cosmetically displeasing and annoying.

There is no cure for KP and no universally effective treatment but there are a bunch of different over-the-counter treatments available to help smooth out and improve the KP.
The first thing you want to do is just make sure you're keeping your skin nice and hydrated. Try to use mild soaps in the shower (I recommend Dove, Caress, Cetaphil) and taking luke-warm short showers. The best time to apply lotions and creams are right after you get out of the shower (I really like Lubriderm and CeraVe).
The second thing is to try an over-the-counter (OTC) cream with an ingredient called lactic acid. There a couple creams that used to be prescription but are now available OTC called AmLactin and Lac-Hydrin. Try applying either one of these creams on the affected area twice a day.
Another OTC cream you can try is something with urea in it such as Carmol 10, Carmol 20, Carmol 40 or Urix 40. Again, put these creams on twice a day. You can also try salicylic acid creams such as Salex.

As you can see, there are a lot of different options and I would just try each one out to see which one works best for me.

For cases of KP that are not improving with moisturizing and the lotions mentioned above, the dermatologist can prescribe a moderate steroid cream such as Triamcinolone cream to apply twice a day for about 2 weeks at a time. They can also prescribe something called a retinoid to help the skin slough off  and exfoliate the skin such as Retin-A, Differin, or Tazarac.

So as you can see there are so many different treatment options available for KP, but the key thing is to try and stay moisturized and apply a nice lotion every day. I also recommend gentle exfoliation with a loofah in the shower. But the good news is that most of the time the KP will eventually just go away as we get older (woohoo finally something GOOD about getting older!).

Let me know what treatments work for you! I'd love to hear it!

That brown discoloration on my face is NOT in this fall!

Have you noticed a dark pigmentation around your cheeks, forehead, nose and/or upper lip? Maybe your face looks something like this:



Well ladies (and I say ladies here because 90% of the time this affects women!), this brown discoloration is called melasma and its very common around the cheeks, forehead and on the upper lip (making it look like you have a mustache!). When you get this while you're pregnant, melasma is also referred to as cholasma and is known as the "the mask of pregnancy".
If you haven't already noticed, the discoloration tends to be more profound on the sun-exposed areas of the face... this makes it pretty clear that the sun, and its UV radiation, play a big part in this discoloration process. Unfortunately we don't really know exactly why this happens, but we do know that it has something to do with our hormones, the sun, and maybe even the medications we take.

Melasma tends to worsen in sunlight and  may even get worse when you switch your birth control or when you become pregnant. Some girls first notice it once they start birth control pills or when they switch to a new brand. This is because melasma definitely has some kind of hormonal component. Sometimes it may be worth it to do some trial and error with your birth control to see if switching it up will help, but if this is somewhat annoying and frustrating for you, especially if you're happy with the current brand you're on, I would just stay put and try some alternatives.

The first thing I would absolutely do no matter what is ALWAYS wear sunscreen every. single. day. NO exception. If you do not wear sunscreen no matter you do with your melasma, it will come back. Sunscreen is not just for your weekend beach days, you should be wearing sunscreen every single day, especially if you have melasma. Make sure the sunscreen is broad-spectrum and covers for both UVA and UVB light. I recommend that it have at least an SPF of 30. I also like sunscreens that have zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide since they do a better job at reflecting the sunlight with less irritation.

The second thing I would do is make an appointment with a dermatologist to get a prescription for something called Tri-Luma. Tri-Luma is a cream that helps with melasma by lightening up the dark spots. It contains 3 important ingredients:
1. Hydroquinone - this is a "bleaching" cream and helps lighten the dark spots
2. Tretinoin - this is a retinoid that has some anti-aging properties and helps with acne
3. Hydrocortisone - this is a mild steroid that helps with redness, irritation, and inflammation
Just like anything in life, you have to try and be patient with this. The cream wont really make a big difference for at least 2 months if not longer.

The third thing I would try are facial peels. I recommend a salicylic and glycolic-acid peels. I have found that TCA peels really help as well. Microdermabration peels and deeper chemicals peels can help too, but then you run the risk of scarring and making the melasma worse in the long run.

Unfortunately there is no absolute cure for melasma, and it can be tough to treat and manage, all you can do is your best to try and lighten it and avoid the sun. But above all else, the most important thing to remember is to wear sunscreen and I'm not talking the sunscreen that's in your foundation... that is not enough. You need to be wearing real sunscreen with SPF 30. CeraVe makes really great sunscreens that are affordable and available at your local drug stores.
So even though darker colors are in for fall, we definitely don't want them on our face so slather on that 'screen girls!