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- $Unique_ID{BRK00227}
- $Pretitle{}
- $Title{Should Older People Seek Treatment for Skin Growths?}
- $Subject{age aging elderly geriatric skin growth treatment age aging old older
- geriatric discolored tags scraping freezing acid treatments Liver spots
- bleaching liquid nitrogen peels cancer cancers Basal cell carcinoma head neck
- upper trunk cryosurgery subfreezing therapy therapies Squamous solitary nodule
- malignant melanoma}
- $Volume{T-20}
- $Log{}
-
- Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
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- Should Older People Seek Treatment for Skin Growths?
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- QUESTION: My dad, who is seventy-five, has a number of skin growths. Should
- he just leave them be, because of his advanced age, or should be seek some
- medical treatment?
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-
- ANSWER: Well, a dermatologist friend of mine believes it's never too late to
- treat skin growths. In older people, she thinks it's very important from an
- emotional standpoint. Some growths are badges of age, which she feels people
- don't always wear proudly. So, by all means take your dad to a doctor. The
- typical growths found in the elderly are small, discolored skin tags in which
- malignant transformation is rare and treatment is relatively simple. Removal
- is usually accomplished through scraping, freezing, or acid treatments. Liver
- spots, another type of skin growth, frequently go untreated and are waved off
- as a sign of aging. But there is no need for this, since they are simple to
- treat and respond to bleaching or liquid nitrogen peels. Now the more serious
- growths are cancers and must be treated. Basal cell carcinoma, found most
- often on the head, neck, or upper trunk, is a slowly advancing cancer which is
- easy to remove through cryosurgery. Squamous cell carcinoma developing as a
- solitary nodule sometimes necessitates deeper procedures as does malignant
- melanoma. Let your father be treated for these growths, either for his ego or
- his life.
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- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
- the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
- doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
- problem.
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