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Posts Tagged ‘skin cancer santa monica’
« Older Entries |So the compliments keep coming…
Thursday, March 23rd, 2017
I keep getting told that “you look good ” “you changed your hair”. No, but thank you! My brows are lifted! I must’ve really needed that laser eye lift!
It was a pleasant surprise to get an update on my review paper of metastatic squamous cell carcinoma which was published 7 years ago. It has been cited by 135 other articles! Ask me how we can prevent this situation. It is not common but unfortunately, there are at least a few people with it every year. It’s very rare that women get them, but last year I did see the second woman of my career that had a SCC spread to her lymph nodes. The first patient I had met was mismanaged by a medical group in town and had her tumor treated numerous times without cure. She couldn’t talk or swallow by the time she met me. It was too late. The second lady had let the tumor grow too long and just had some bad luck.
Typically, the average SCC that spreads to the lymph nodes in my practice is an older white male who has had previous treatment of the lesion with radiation or liquid nitrogen. Size of the tumor, aggressive pathology, a delay of treatment and location on the upper half of the head or back of the hand are higher risk factors in my experience, and is backed up by research.
There are ways of avoiding this situation! Mainly, wear a hat and a zinc oxide-based sunblock such as Verdure. Get frequent exams and examine your own skin by looking and feeling. Talk to me about options for treating precancers that we can’t even see or may be too numerous to treat. And most of all, don’t delay seeking help.
Tags: best sunscreen, dermatologist los angeles, dermatologist santa monica, mohs surgery los angeles, mohs surgery pasadena, mohs surgery santa monica, Skin Cancer, skin cancer pasadena, skin cancer santa monica, squamous cell carcinoma los angeles, Verdure sunscreen, zinc oxide sunscreen
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Sorry for the absence!
Monday, November 3rd, 2014
Sorry for not posting a blog for months. It started with my girls’ bday party planning, and somewhere it morphed into the elementary school search.
A lot of you have been asking when Verdure sunscreen will be available again. We are really sure it will be March/April 2015. Thanks for your patience.
I hope you will enjoy getting to know my new assistants Rosa and Tracy. Once again, I have made the USC and UCLA crowds happy.
Mistakenly, I was omitted by Pasadena Magazine as a Top Doctor in Dermatology this year when the issue was published. Their editors were notified of this error. Once again, you will see my name in Los Angeles magazine as a SuperDoctor this January. Thanks again to my colleagues who have bestowed Dr. Bennett and me with this honor.
A friendly reminder that I will be out of the office as usual Thanksgiving week and between Xmas and New Years. Cosmetic treatments and appointments are very popular around this time of year so plan accordingly. The Mohs surgery schedule is also filling up, so if you decide to postpone your surgery until after the holidays (not recommended for SCC or melanoma), please make careful note of the exact location of your biopsy site and take multiple pictures with your cell phone or ask your referring dermatologist to take a picture and consider a diagram.
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Posted in Botox, Juvederm, Laser Hair Removal, Mohs surgery, Restylane, Skin Cancer, acne scar treatment, acne scars, fractionated laser, fraxel laser, laser | No Comments »
Ahhh, summer!
Tuesday, June 24th, 2014
Please forgive my absence. It’s been a crazy month. I hope everyone is enjoying the spectacular June weather. Not much June gloom this year, but I’ll take temps in the mid-70’s forever!
We are transitioning many employees in the office this month, both medical and lab assistants. Many of our employees are moving on to graduate school, and we are welcoming many new faces. We are doing our best to train them properly. Thanks for your patience with this process. I must say, finding these gems in the mine has been quite a challenge this year. Never have we had so many flaky applicants. It really was disappointing. A lot of careless typos, regurgitated cover letters and poor etiquette from college graduates this year. I’ve never seen anything like it in the many years I’ve been doing this. I’m wondering if social media has just changed people’s behavior in the workplace. Nevertheless, I’m really proud of who we are sending off and who we are welcoming in, so I hope you enjoy getting to know my new assistants.
We’ve been spending a lot of time in our pool, and it reminds me to talk about sun protection in water. Water resistance in sunscreens is really important. I favor mineral based sunscreens (zinc/titanium) because they tend to last longer and usually do not sting the eyes. The term “water resistance” means that the sunscreen has been shown to last in 40 minutes of water. “Very water resistant” which is a term being phased out, means 80 minutes duration.
Our dog Gigi goes a little nuts when we are in the pool. She thinks we are all drowning. As a Belgian Malinois, it is her duty to protect us. This leads to incessant barking which echoes throughout Stone Canyon. The nice thing is that she is so worn out from “rescuing” us that it guarantees she is pooped for the rest of the day. She got 93 likes on Facebook from the Belgian Malinois enthusiasts. This may be almost as many Facebook friends as I have.
Tags: basal cell carcinoma los angeles, dermatologist los angeles, dermatologist pasadena, dermatologist santa monica, mohs surgery los angeles, skin cancer los angeles, skin cancer santa monica, skin cancer screening los angeles
Posted in Skin Cancer, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Technology can be fashionable; Ultherapy update
Thursday, January 9th, 2014
I saw a cool new device that might come in handy for the ladies out there-A UV-reading device that was designed by a jewelry designer. These bracelets look cool and pretty without even without knowing what they are for. Don’t know how shatterproof they are though (I’m thinking about when I got plowed down skiing last year)…
Click on the link below:
So it’s been 2 weeks since my Ultherapy treatment. My skin feels a little tighter on my brow, MAYBE (and I am struggling here), but my skin looks more translucent (not good). Visibly I see no change thus far. One out of 3 people in the office noticed a change. Supposed to improve over the next 3 months? We’ll see!
Tags: skin cancer los angeles, skin cancer santa monica, ultherapy los angeles, ultherapy reviews, ultherapy santa monica
Posted in Skin Cancer, Uncategorized, laser | No Comments »
Happy Birthday!
Tuesday, July 30th, 2013
This is Mommy, Signed Amelie aka Klimt
My girls had a wonderful birthday party again. So glad that many of their friends from school and beyond were able to make it. Mom worked hard on the party. I even made the skyline in the background after a full day of surgery. I would love to live in the Michael’s store if I had a chance, but alas, that is another life. Mom and her best friend wrapped 56 water bottles in Spiderman duct tape and went a little crazy on Etsy. I’m sure my kids will have no recollection or appreciation for this when they get older.
Thank you for putting up with my annual pilgrimage to San Diego for teaching skin cancer reconstruction. It was nice to meet doctors from Europe and the US, as well as getting some fresher air down there. We enjoyed our first trip to Legoland and the new Legoland Hotel. It comes with a disco in the elevator. I’d give the food a solid B, service very friendly, a little confused, but friendly. The highlight of my trip was a Tony Hawk sighting at dinner in Carlsbad while chowing down on Maine lobster and oysters, and seeing my cousin and his family with my parents, whom I flew out to join us. Too bad Didi was too young to appreciate that he was sitting right next to us. She is constantly asking me about skateboards.
I will not be leaving town as far as I know until early September, though a brief trip may happen in August. It has been a busy time, so please plan accordingly! Looking forward to my trip to NYC right after Labor Day ALL BY MYSELF!!! I love to travel by myself, but unfortunately, I have gotten more and more chicken as I get older. My social calender is already full and I can’t wait to grab a cup of coffee from one of those street stands and pound the pavement and re-explore all the old neighborhoods at my own pace. I have been working really hard this summer, so I am looking forward to a little indulgence of time for myself. Cannot believe I have only been there once since I left in ‘98. I will look forward to all of your NYC tips. First stop will be Ess-A-Bagel for the whitefish salad!
Tags: skin cancer los angeles, skin cancer pasadena, skin cancer santa monica, skin cancer screening los angeles, Tony Hawk
Posted in Skin Cancer | No Comments »
Our new waiting room
Saturday, June 1st, 2013
Thanks to our loyal patients for putting up with our waiting room in Suite 570 for all these years. Here’s the new look! Also, I know some people loved the stained glass ceiling in Suite 520, some thought it was god awful. It is now gone because we needed better lighting and I had a patient who loved to have it, thankfully. I didn’t want it to go to waste.
Melanoma rates in children have risen. Melanoma deaths in male baby boomers is twice that of female baby boomers. An article of mine on sun and melanoma was recently cited in a new article in the June 2013 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology entitled, “Melanoma Death Prevention.”
Recently I had a patient come in after 7 years. It has been that kind of year. Luckily for him, he came in. I found a melanoma in-situ on his back. His prognosis is excellent. I love my job!
Tags: melanoma los angeles, melanoma pasadena, melanoma santa monica, skin cancer los angeles, skin cancer los feliz, skin cancer pasadena, skin cancer santa monica
Posted in Skin Cancer | No Comments »
Skin Cancer Awareness Month
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
May is the month of Melanoma Awareness and Don’t Fry Day. The latter day was created by Dr. Jeff Ashley through his non-profit organization Sun Safety for Kids. This organization promotes sun safety awareness to children and their schools. I sit on the executive board of this organization. If you know of any teachers who would be interested in educational materials for their students or any members of the PTA who are on their school safety committees, please have them visit sunsafetyforkids.org
Although we all tend to protect ourselves more during the summer months, a friendly reminder that even UVA rays penetrate through clouds. The scary thing is that we are all exposed to flourescent lighting and now, UV-C lighting in our workplace and home, and we tend to forget our constant exposure in these settings as well.
At the same time, I have read that the JAMA has published that surgery for nonmelanoma skin cancers may not be beneficial for certain elderly patients. While I agree that treating a skin cancer on someone who has a life expectancy of less than one year may not make sense, we have treated a number of very elderly patients in our practice and have contributed to their well-being and comfort. Dr. Bennett recently saw a 108 year old, who saw him when she was 98, asking if her skin cancer should be treated! Today I spoke to a patient who lost 2 friends not to melanoma, but to squamous cell carcinoma. Dying from SCC is not a pleasant way to go, particularly of the head and neck. In some cases it is miserable and difficult to watch someone losing the ability to chew, speak, talk and swallow. What I am afraid of is our loss of access to a good procedure like Mohs surgery which, while expensive, does provide the highest rate of cure for skin cancer treatment. Mohs surgery is not necessary for all tumors in all locations, at the same token. An ethical and competent dermatologist should be able to steer one in the right direction when it comes to treatment. Make sure you know all of your options and why a treatment may be recommended to you. I have seen cases where Mohs surgery should have been done, and had not been recommended, to the opposite, where Mohs was probable overkill, and should only have been done if the patient had chosen that option.
Tags: melanoma los angeles, melanoma pasadena, Mohs surgeon los angeles, mohs surgery los angeles, mohs surgery pasadena, mohs surgery santa monica, skin cancer los angeles, skin cancer santa monica, squamous cell carcinoma los angeles, squamous cell carcinoma santa monica
Posted in News, Skin Cancer | No Comments »
Skin Cancer Myths and Facts
Friday, February 8th, 2013
The Skin Cancer Foundation has a wonderful page about the most controversial and confusing issues regarding sun protection. Check it out! And hey, I finally figured out how to create a link on Word Press (it’s that red link above). That alone should encourage you to check it out. Woo hoo!
Tags: basal cell carcinoma los angeles, dermatologist beverly hills, dermatologist glendale, dermatologist los angeles, dermatologist los feliz, dermatologist pasadena, dermatologist san fernando valley, dermatologist santa monica, melanoma los angeles, mohs surgery los angeles, mohs surgery pasadena, mohs surgery san fernando valley, mohs surgery san gabriel valley, mohs surgery santa monica, skin cancer los angeles, skin cancer pasadena, skin cancer santa monica, skin cancer screening los angeles, squamous cell carcinoma los angeles
Posted in Skin Cancer, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Skin cancer incidence
Friday, January 25th, 2013
The Skin Cancer Foundation put out a statement that the incidence of skin cancers is higher than that of breast, lung, colon and prostate combined. This does not include just melanoma, but also non-melanoma skin cancers including basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer. Preventative exams are key! Not only should you have a dermatologist look at you, but get to know what your skin looks like. This can be tough in certain places, so have a loved one help, and/or use two mirrors. Things can change fast. I just had a patient who had a full exam in August, and now has multiple suspicious moles that just popped up in the past 6 months.
Tags: Basal cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma los angeles, dermatologist beverly hills, dermatologist los angeles, dermatologist los feliz, dermatologist malibu, dermatologist pasadena, skin cancer los angeles, skin cancer pasadena, skin cancer santa monica, skin cancer screening los angeles, squamous cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma los angeles
Posted in Skin Cancer, Uncategorized | Comments Off
Melanoma Monday
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
Mayo Clinic just announced results of a long study on residents in Minnesota. Between 1970 and 2009, the incidence of melanoma went up 9 times for young women, and 4 times for young men. Also, the Skin Cancer Foundation announced that one person dies of melanoma every hour.
A skin cancer exam is a very important part of one’s general health check-up. Many melanomas can be subtle or very small.
Tags: melanoma los angeles, melanoma pasadena, melanoma santa monica, mole check los angeles, mole check pasadena, mole check santa monica, skin cancer pasadena, skin cancer santa monica, skin cancer screening los angeles
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
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