Dermatology of Philadelphia’s expansion into South Jersey included the exciting addition of Dr. Jaryd Freedman to its team of industry-leading board-certified physicians. Amongst this excitement, Dr. Freedman recently had the pleasure of being a guest with on-air host Michael Burns of The Dave Nemo Show on RadioNemo.
Dr. Freedman and Michael discussed skin care, preventing skin cancer, and skin health for truck drivers, including some of the following questions:
Burns: How does sun exposure through the large picture windows of trucks affect truck drivers?
Freedman: A lot of the diseases that we see in dermatology are sun-induced. The biggest one being skin cancer. The cumulative sun exposure over a lifetime will be the main thing that increases somebody’s risk of skin cancer. There are other skin conditions that can also be exacerbated by sunlight. Mostly, we’re worried about the long term risk of developing skin cancer.
Burns: Is skin cancer one of the leading conditions affecting Americans?
Freedman: Skin cancer is the most common cancer that plagues humanity. Unlike many internal cancers, we don’t have great data on the most common types of skin cancer because they’re so common they aren’t reported the same way, say a lung cancer, would be. It’s estimated that there are 5.5 million skin cancer cases each year in the U.S. alone.
Burns: What are some of the first signs you will notice on your skin to prompt seeking medical attention?
Freedman: One sign to look out for that there is a lot of sun damage occurring would be rough spots. If you’re chronically getting little rough spots that can be picked off, grow back, and may be tender, that would be something you would want to bring to your doctor’s attention.
Burns: If a mole that someone has had for many years suddenly begins hurting or becomes sensitive to the touch, is it a sign of skin cancer?
Freedman: That is not specific to skin cancer, but there are some skin cancers that can be painful. Generally, most skin cancers are not painful. Pain or itching of a lesion can often be a sign of inflammation so it is not the best predictor of whether a lesion on the skin is becoming cancerous. Most skin cancers are actually asymptomatic.
Listen to the full interview with Dr. Freedman on the Dave Nemo Show here. Call our office at (215) 315-3197 or click here to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jaryd Freedman at our South Jersey dermatology location.
