New Melanoma and Skin Care Center Focuses on Prevention and Treatment
There are more new cases of skin cancer in this country each year than breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer combined.
At particular risk are people with pale skin or who have a family history of skin cancer, a history of severe sunburns, numerous or unusually shaped moles, or people getting excessive or unprotected exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
The new Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute Melanoma and Skin Care Center was designed to focus on prevention and treatment of this serious condition, and it is the only facility of its kind in the region.
The team includes a dermatologist, surgical oncologist, dermatopathologist and, in early 2018, a surgeon specializing in treating ocular melanoma, the most common form of eye cancer.
The center features technology like total body photography to address patients’ concerns quickly and avoid unnecessary biopsies and anxiety. Pathology reports are read onsite and cases are reviewed by tumor boards through Hartford HealthCare’s membership in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance.