Skin Cancer Prevention Starts with You

You brush your teeth every morning. You grab your keys before leaving the house. But are you protecting your skin with the same consistency?

For the MedSpa Confidential podcast, Dr. Kate Dee sat down with Dr. Angela Casey, a board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon, to talk about the most common cancer in America and the three simple habits that can dramatically lower your risk.

Skin cancer outnumbers every other cancer combined, but it's also one of the most preventable. Dr. Casey shared her straightforward approach to catching problems early and keeping your skin safe without obsessing over every freckle.

Stack Your Sunscreen Like a Daily Habit

"Getting into the habit of putting that on every morning, just like you brush your teeth every day." — Dr. Angela Casey, Med Spa Confidential

Here's what Dr. Casey told her patients, and it's genius in its simplicity: put your sunscreen somewhere you can't ignore it.

She recommends placing your SPF 30 or higher next to your toothbrush, by your car keys, or anywhere you touch first thing in the morning. The idea is to make it automatic. You wouldn't leave the house without your phone. Don't leave without protecting your skin either.

People think sunscreen is just for the beach or summer. But UV damage happens every single day, even when it's cloudy, even in winter. Your windshield doesn't block all UVA rays. Neither does your office window. Daily application is the baseline, and habit-stacking makes it stick.

Skip the Peak Sun Hours

"Between generally 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM in most climates is going to be key." — Dr. Angela Casey, Med Spa Confidential

The sun's UV rays are at their strongest during those midday hours. That's when most damage happens, even if you don't burn. If you're running errands, walking the dog, or meeting a friend for lunch, try to plan around those hours.

It doesn't mean you have to hide indoors all day. It just means being strategic. Walk in the morning. Sit under an umbrella at noon. Wear a hat with a brim.

For med spa professionals reading this, consider scheduling events outside peak hours. It's a small operational change that shows you take patient safety seriously beyond the treatment room.

And for everyone else: if you're spending the day at your kid's soccer game or golfing with friends, you're racking up UV exposure without realizing it. Those hours add up fast, and they contribute to cumulative damage that can show up as skin cancer years later.

Do a Monthly Self-Skin Exam

"In the dermatology space, we recommend monthly self skin exams for our patients, where they stand in front of a mirror and they look themselves over." — Dr. Angela Casey, Med Spa Confidential

Once a month, check yourself head to toe. Front, back, arms, legs, scalp, even between your toes. You're not looking for perfection. You're looking for change.

Dr. Casey calls it the "ugly duckling" rule. Most of your moles and spots should look pretty similar. The one that stands out, the one that doesn't fit the pattern, that's the one to watch.

This isn't meant to panic, but create awareness. When you check regularly, you know what's normal for your body. You catch things early, when they're easier to treat and before they turn into something serious.

I can't tell you how many times patients come into my med spa asking me to "just take a quick look" at something on their skin. I always send them straight to a dermatologist.

We don't have the training or tools to diagnose skin cancer, and neither does your injector or esthetician. If something's been there for two or three months and it's not going away, get it checked by someone who actually looks at skin under a microscope every day.

Before Your Next Appointment

Skin cancer doesn't have to be scary if you're paying attention. These three habits take less than five minutes a day, and they could save you from a diagnosis down the road. Dr. Casey's message is clear: prevention works, early detection works, and you don't need to be a dermatologist to take control of your skin health.

Watch or Listen to the full episode of Med Spa Confidential to hear what dermatologists look for during skin exams that most people miss, the guidelines for when a harmless bump becomes a red flag, and why Dr. Casey says early detection can mean the difference between a simple office visit and reconstructive surgery.

The transcript

[00:00:00] Dr. Kate Dee: One in five people will get skin cancer in their lifetime, and most of them are ignoring the early signs. Right now, even worse, the treatment with the highest cure rate isn't always the one your doctor mentions first. By the end of this episode, you'll know how to spot the warning signs. What your real risk is and which treatment gives you the best chance of getting rid of skin cancer completely without unnecessary scarring.

[00:00:22] Dr. Kate Dee: This is part two of our three part skincare series, so make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next one.

[00:00:28] Dr. Kate Dee: Hi, I am Dr. Kate d and [00:00:30] I'm back today with Dr. Angela Casey. She's a board certified dermatologist and fellowship trained MO surgeon who specializes in skin cancer treatment and prevention. So, Angela, thanks so much for being back on the podcast today.

[00:00:43] Dr. Angela Casey: I am thrilled to be with you again, Dr. Kate, and excited to talk with your community again.

[00:00:49] Dr. Kate Dee: Yeah. Well, so I know nobody wants to hear about skin cancer really, but this is like so critically important and basic for both your health and. [00:01:00] Really anti-aging 'cause nobody wants to have a big skin cancer scar and, you know, go through all that stuff. So, so can we talk about like, who's at risk for skin cancer, what the big risks are?

[00:01:13] Dr. Kate Dee: What, what's the biggest misconception that people have about what their skin cancer risk is?

[00:01:17] Dr. Angela Casey: Sure. I mean, the reality I, I think we just go back to the numbers. One in five Americans is going to suffer from skin cancer by age 70. So there is a very good chance [00:01:30] that you or someone you know will. will suffer from skin cancer and, it is the number one cancer worldwide and actually outnumbers all other cancers combined.

[00:01:41] Dr. Angela Casey: And I think a lot of people don't know that because we give a lot of attention to other cancers, breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, all the other cancers. When you combine all of those skin cancer still outnumbers those other cancers. So, it is very prevalent. [00:02:00] Uh, fortunately it's very preventable as well.

[00:02:03] Dr. Angela Casey: Um, and I think that's really where our community can be empowered or what are the tools and steps you can take to help prevent skin cancer? The truth is that skin cancer can occur in any skin type or skin tone. So it is a myth to think that just because you have darker skin tone that you are not at risk for skin cancer.

[00:02:25] Dr. Angela Casey: You may have a lesser risk compared to somebody with really fair skin. But [00:02:30] that risk is still there. Um, so that's important to know. Um, genetics play a big role as well, so if you have a strong family history of skin cancer, you're gonna be more at risk. and then anybody who has a outdoor lifestyle, so do you enjoy golfing?

[00:02:49] Dr. Angela Casey: Do you enjoy sailing? Um, do you enjoy beach vacations? Do you live in a climate where you're outdoors, hiking, and, um, exploring a lot of the year? some of the worst skin [00:03:00] cancers that we see across the world are in Australia, where it's sunny and beautiful most of the year. And the large majority of citizens of Australia have very fair skin because they're of Northern European descent.

[00:03:14] Dr. Angela Casey: Um, so those are the main risk factors. Um, there's a lot we can do to, to mitigate those risk factors and we can get more into that as discussion continues.

[00:03:24] Dr. Kate Dee: do you think that people ignore the, the spots that show up on their skin, and why do you [00:03:30] think that happens?

[00:03:31] Dr. Angela Casey: All the time. I see it in my practice every single day. Uh, so for your audience, um, and you mentioned at the beginning, I'm a fellowship trained MO surgeon. MO is named after Dr. Frederick Mos, who is the founder of the procedure. But basically it's microscopically controlled skin cancer surgery. So in my practice every day I am taking skin cancers off of usually the head and neck area, more cosmetically sensitive areas, um, and then doing [00:04:00] reconstructive surgery after we clear all the cancer cells.

[00:04:02] Dr. Angela Casey: I've looked at their skin under the microscope and mapped out the cancer cells, and we know that we're around everything. At least a couple times a day. I hear from a patient, and they're usually ashamed to admit this. But Dr. Casey, that spot has been on my forehead for a couple years before, like I actually got it checked.

[00:04:23] Dr. Angela Casey: skin cancers are very tricky. They can look like a pimple, they can look like a patch of eczema or an [00:04:30] irritated, little piece of skin. Um, they can look like psoriasis. So, um, and many times, even in the. Primary care setting, those lesions can be misdiagnosed because primary care doctors are taking care of everything else.

[00:04:44] Dr. Angela Casey: We can't expect them to be experts in, um, skin lesions, but that is more often than not the case with my first time patients. As they get more skin cancers, as many of them do, they start to [00:05:00] identify the warning signs and symptoms. And we really, it is one of the primary reasons that once somebody is diagnosed with a skin cancer, we want them connected with a dermatologist that they're gonna see at least once a year to do an overall head to toe skin check so that those lesions don't get missed.

[00:05:18] Dr. Angela Casey: Because when they grow for years, it's a much bigger issue. That little pimple that looks like it's the size of the pencil eraser that's sitting on their forehead probably [00:05:30] has roots that go like two or three times that big. And that's what I am chasing under the microscope and why we bring that microscopic, view of the skin and we're tracking and mapping those cancer roots.

[00:05:43] Dr. Angela Casey: So, what we see on the surface is really the tip of the iceberg, I think is the best analogy. And nine times out of 10, my first time, patients are really surprised when we show them the wound after the cancer's out and they say, I cannot believe that that [00:06:00] cancer spread that far. And that's the reality of it, because they do get missed and we reassure them it.

[00:06:06] Dr. Angela Casey: It is very easy to overlook it and just brush it off as a little bump or sore.

[00:06:13] Dr. Kate Dee: So what should people be looking for at home

[00:06:16] Dr. Angela Casey: when we talk, well, let's break it into melanoma, skin cancers and non-melanoma skin cancers. And let's start with the non-melanoma skin cancers. Those are your basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers, which are the most [00:06:30] common, fortunately, and also. The most treatable of the skin cancers. So, the combination of basal cells would number close to 5 million of those per year in the United States.

[00:06:41] Dr. Angela Casey: Squamous cell skin cancers close to 3 million per year in the United States. again, that's a large majority of our skin cancers. Those can present as. A pimple, they look like a pimple. they look like a red, scaly patch of skin. They might look like a wart. they might [00:07:00] look like a scar, like a pearly scar.

[00:07:03] Dr. Angela Casey: they might look like a little abrasion and by

[00:07:07] Dr. Kate Dee: why, by the way, when when someone asks me, what do you think this is Doc? I'm like, well, oh my God, I don't know. Show it to a dermatologist. You know? I mean

[00:07:16] Dr. Kate Dee: that's

[00:07:17] Dr. Kate Dee: because it probably needs a biopsy. Is it new?

[00:07:21] Dr. Angela Casey: you are absolutely doing the right thing. And thank goodness for doctors like yourself, Dr. DI mean, it, it is so key that, um, you get it looked at by an [00:07:30] expert. But I advise the way I counsel patients because you might get a pimple on your skin and then it's gone after two or three weeks and it probably was just a pimple.

[00:07:39] Dr. Angela Casey: When something's been there for a couple months, like two or three or four months, that's when I say it's time to go see. A dermatologist, it is impractical that every time you notice a new little spot on your skin that you're gonna be rushing into the dermatologist. I saw this like little red bump.

[00:07:56] Dr. Angela Casey: That's just not practical. So give it a few months. If it's still [00:08:00] there, it's worth getting it checked out. So that's the non-melanoma skin cancers. the melanoma skin cancers are what we think of as like those dark, kinda uglier lesions. and we use that a, B, C, d, E rule, which I'm sure a lot of your community knows.

[00:08:15] Dr. Angela Casey: A for asymmetry, B for fuzzy borders or irregular borders. C for color. So if it's a dark, darker in color, that can be a warning sign. D diameter, which is bigger than a pencil, eraser [00:08:30] and e for, um, evolving. So is it changing over a few month period or over the past year? Have you noticed it changing?So with melanoma, skin cancers, I think a, a good takeaway for your audience.

[00:08:44] Dr. Angela Casey: 'cause it can be hard to remember all that. Look for the ugly duckling lesions on your skin. When you look at your skin as a whole, you might be a really moly person, or maybe not, but most of the moles and lesions should kind of fall within the spec, same [00:09:00] spectrum. And you notice the ugly duckling, that's the one you should follow.

[00:09:04] Dr. Angela Casey: It doesn't always mean it's bad. But it warrants getting a second look by an expert. and I, in my practice, and I've been in practice almost 20 years, I think that is just like an easy, practical takeaway for patients. They remember that like, okay, let's look for the one that stands out. and again.

[00:09:24] Dr. Angela Casey: Doesn't always mean it's bad. A lot of times a benign lesion like a s keratosis can look [00:09:30] really ugly and it's nothing to worry about, but it does warrant that trip to a, a dermatology expert to have it checked out.

[00:09:36] Dr. Kate Dee: what can people do at home to prevent skin cancer? What are the basics?

[00:09:40] Dr. Angela Casey: Well, basics, um, sunscreen every day. So SPF 30 or higher, um, and. Getting into the habit of putting that in on every morning, just like you brush your teeth every day. So for my patients, um, I find it's very successful to have it stack your sunscreen with something you're gonna do [00:10:00] every day. So maybe you put your sunscreen by your toothbrush, 'cause you're gonna brush your teeth every morning.

[00:10:04] Dr. Angela Casey: Maybe you put it by your car keys because like you're gonna grab your keys before you go out for the day. If the sunscreen's there, you're gonna remember to put it on, just put it somewhere where it's very accessible. It's gonna be. Top of mind. So that's number one with, prevention. Number two is avoiding peaks on hours.

[00:10:22] Dr. Angela Casey: So between generally 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM in most climates is, going to be key. And then [00:10:30] I, I would say the third thing with skin cancer. And just kind of prevention is getting in the habit of looking yourself over once a month. So just like as women, we do breast self exams every month and we check that in addition to getting our mammograms and other screening measures as necessary, in the dermatology space, we recommend monthly self skin exams for our patients, where they stand in front of a mirror and they look themselves over.

[00:10:57] Dr. Angela Casey: So they are. Kind of aware of the [00:11:00] general landscape, what things look like, and when something seems to change or seems different or catches their eye, it's um, you know, kind of on their radar so they know whether or not to address that.

[00:11:10] Dr. Kate Dee: So can, can you explain, why like, early detection is so critical.

[00:11:15] Dr. Angela Casey: so our cure rates with skin cancers are extremely high with early detection. the truth is with most basal cell skin cancers. Early detection is just going to lead to a much smaller [00:11:30] surgery. The basal cell skin cancers has a very low metastatic risk. As I mentioned earlier in the podcast, that is the most common type of skin cancer.

[00:11:39] Dr. Angela Casey: So fortunately it's also the best one. but early detection, smaller scar, smaller surgery. Very straightforward. Squamous cell skin cancers do have metastatic potential so they can metastasize. It's still a small percentage of squamous cells that metastasize just about five to 10%. but [00:12:00] again, the key is removing those when they're smaller so that they don't have a chance to establish those deep

[00:12:06] Dr. Kate Dee: And I, I

[00:12:07] Dr. Angela Casey: And then for.

[00:12:08] Dr. Kate Dee: to mention that, you know, skin cancers can happen anywhere. You have skin. So if one of those basal cells is like on your nose and it gets big enough, you're talking, you gotta reconstruct your nose. I mean, it could be really big deal, the fact that it went that far, right? Not, we're not just talking about like an ugly scar on your back or something.

[00:12:29] Dr. Kate Dee: Oh, I don't [00:12:30] like that. This, it could really get into bigger realms, right.

[00:12:33] Dr. Angela Casey: Yes. Um, that, and that is what I'm treating in my, in my practice every day. As I mentioned, with MO'S surgery, it's usually, uh, skin cancers on the head and neck, so noses, lips, eyelids, ears, as I say, like that is precious real estate. It is an area where every millimeter count. So the sooner you get to it, when you get to it soon, it is so simple and it's tiny.

[00:12:58] Dr. Angela Casey: You smaller than a [00:13:00] pencil eraser. You take just a tiny little scoop. Many times it can heal on its own. Um, and then the other end of the spectrum is where we are having to take off almost an entire nose or an entire ear. Half of a lip. and unfortunately I see that far more often than I'd like to. I, I wish that those individuals had better access to care initially so we could get it, um, sooner and nip it in the bud.

[00:13:27] Dr. Angela Casey: and then just with, um, prevention and [00:13:30] early treatment with melanoma, it is so critical. So just for context, um, melanoma skin cancers in the US number about 200,000 per year. So compare that to the many millions. Um, you know, the 8 million or so of basal and squamous total that we see. thankfully it's a much lower number because that is the most serious of the cancers and melanoma is a cancer where literally like every week counts.[00:14:00]

[00:14:00] Dr. Angela Casey: So like every week that, that melanoma sits on your skin, like the potential for it to spread is tremendous. the sooner we get to it, the better. And when we catch them early stage and we treat them with a simple surgery in the office, just local numbing, we don't have to put them under general anesthesia.

[00:14:19] Dr. Angela Casey: We again nip it in the bud and it's done. And the melanoma has progressed beyond that initial stage and it has more root. Then it's spread to lymph nodes. It's [00:14:30] a whole different

[00:14:30] Dr. Angela Casey: game.

[00:14:31] Dr. Angela Casey: Um, so I can't stress that enough. Um, just we take those very seriously. When we have patients in the office diagnosed, we get them in like within a week or two to get the surgery done.

[00:14:44] Dr. Kate Dee: Do you have a statistic that says, the the rate of melanoma when somebody has used tanning beds in the past, we didn't mention tanning beds, but one preventive thing is don't ever use tanning beds.

[00:14:57] Dr. Angela Casey: not, not directly for the [00:15:00] tanning bed, we don't have that statistic, but the statistic, um, that I think is more widely known, um, and it can come from a tanning bed or it can come from, natural sun exposure. Five or more sunburns in your life doubles your risk Of melanoma. And how easy is that for any of us to get five sunburns?

[00:15:20] Dr. Kate Dee: I had way

[00:15:21] Dr. Angela Casey: most, I had more than that

[00:15:22] Dr. Kate Dee: a kid.

[00:15:23] Dr. Angela Casey: in my

[00:15:25] Dr. Kate Dee: Yeah.

[00:15:25] Dr. Angela Casey: years,

[00:15:27] Dr. Angela Casey: and we still spend all the time in kids playing [00:15:30] sports. Uh, you see individuals on vacation and you're getting sunburns. So think of that, you're doubling your risk just with those few sunburns, it's significant.

[00:15:39] Dr. Kate Dee: had a few patients in my practice who are in their twenties and they've already had their first melanoma in their twenties because they were using, you know, tanning beds so much in their teens. And that's really fast to me. Like that's remarkably fast.

[00:15:55] Dr. Angela Casey: individuals probably likely had a genetic predisposition [00:16:00] as well. So we know for melanoma skin cancers more so than basal and squamous cells, there, um, are some very strong gene penetrance patterns. Um, so it is a really important part of the history for our patients, like knowing if. If they have a family member that had melanoma, we need to keep a much closer eye on them and something for your audience to know as well.

[00:16:23] Dr. Angela Casey: if you have a first degree relative, so whether that's a parent, a sibling, or a child that has [00:16:30] melanoma, skin cancer, even if you have no history yourself, you need to be seeing a dermatologist once a year. That's a American Academy of Dermatology standard of care and recommendation, and I think it's something that's not always messaged well to the public at large.

[00:16:45] Dr. Kate Dee: No, I think that's really important. I, I have a weird circumstance myself 'cause my father had, uveal melanoma, so it one in his, in the retina and. That was caught when it was teeny tiny by a really astute [00:17:00] optomoligist. And, little trivia, Renee Richards is who diagnosed my father's melanoma in his eye.

[00:17:06] Dr. Kate Dee: So for people at home who know who Renee Richards is. But anyway, after she was a tennis star, she became an ophthalmologist. But anyway, um.it makes me really paranoid about going for my annual eye exam. I'm, I don't go to an optometrist 'cause I feel like they wouldn't find it.

[00:17:22] Dr. Kate Dee: And again, thankfully you are a physician yourself and you understand the importance of taking [00:17:30] that seriously, your dad's history.

[00:17:31] Dr. Angela Casey: And, um, that is such fortunate news that he.

[00:17:34] Dr. Kate Dee: He didn't even lose his eye. He, I mean, it, it, it freaked him out big time. He thought he was gonna die, but, you know, it's so important to find them when they're tiny. So, yes, a plug for going back to your dermatologist every year. so can we, switch to just talking about what MO'S surgery, you talked a little bit about MO'S surgery and, I think it's important for everybody to understand like the reason that [00:18:00] you're.

[00:18:00] Dr. Kate Dee: Looking under the microscope at like every little bit of the skin is to preserve as much healthy skin as possible. So you're right, like you're not just hacking out a giant surrounding area of normal skin, so you're, you're trying to minimize the amount of, of tissue they're losing. Right. Is that basically what you're

[00:18:20] Dr. Angela Casey: You're exactly right. So getting back to what we talked about earlier about the precious real estate, where, you know, every millimeter of skin counts, um, and it can [00:18:30] be the, the difference between a very simple reconstruction versus a very complex one. Um, so MO'S surgery. offers a few advantages to patients.

[00:18:40] Dr. Angela Casey: Um, one is that it has the highest cure rate of any procedure for skin cancers, and that comes back to, again, that precise mapping of the cancer, uh, morphology as, as you mentioned, Dr. D. So, with most surgery, we are looking at the piece of skin that I surgically [00:19:00] excise in the office under the microscope.

[00:19:02] Dr. Angela Casey: I'm looking at that as the surgeon and mapping out. All of that, those cancer cells in a three dimensional manner. So I'm not just looking at at slices of the specimen, I'm not looking at samples of it like we do in traditional pathology. I'm literally looking at the entire cancer in a three dimensional manner.

[00:19:23] Dr. Angela Casey: And, continuing to remove little bits more because I'm mapping that cancer in a three [00:19:30] dimensional way. So you think of it, if I'm looking at, at the edges, at the depth of it, um, the, the top, the surface, like every little bit of it. So I know. Oh, there's a little cancer left at 11 o'clock on the clock face.

[00:19:43] Dr. Angela Casey: I need to go back and get a little bit more at the edge. Um, the procedure is done in office, so it's all done under local anesthesia, which is, wonderful for patients. Um, they can have a normal breakfast that morning. They come in, with their family members. We put a little bit of numbing into the area where [00:20:00] the skin cancer is, the removal.

[00:20:03] Dr. Angela Casey: Of the skin cancer takes just a few minutes. So it's just kind of, um, as I tell patients, like a little bit bigger version of the biopsy, I then bring that piece of skin, which is usually kind of a saucer shaped piece of skin. Into our lab where my histotechs process it in a very specific way, um, so that we can correlate it with that three dimensional mapping that I mentioned.

[00:20:26] Dr. Angela Casey: I then go into the lab, look at it into the [00:20:30] microscope, map out that cancer, and I can see if we are clear of it or if maybe there's a root at the bottom at the depth, if there's one at three o'clock or 10 o'clock, and then go back in those, respective

[00:20:41] Dr. Angela Casey: areas.

[00:20:41] Dr. Angela Casey: must take a while then, right? I mean, you're doing all this particular very It, it does. So each time, um, that piece of skin processes in the lab, it's close to an hour. So we tell patients to like, plan to camp out for the day. Bring your books, bring your iPad, your phone, bring some snacks, [00:21:00] bring a friend. It is a day of, yeah, it is. I would say on average it's about three hours for patients, because then once we clear.

[00:21:09] Dr. Angela Casey: If the cancer, then I do the reconstruction. And in my practice we always do that same day for patients that's not. Always, the case across the board, but we feel it's important that patients leave the office, everything's done and taken care of, and they don't have to dread another surgery a day or two later for the reconstruction.[00:21:30]

[00:21:30] Dr. Angela Casey: And, um, we do, I do about 99% of my reconstructions and in office. every once in a while we have to refer out to like a oculoplastic colleague or a facial plastics, if it's. We've taken off a whole eyelid and that whole area has to be reconstructed. And I do see that, I see it probably at least once a month in my practice, if not more, more frequently.

[00:21:55] Dr. Angela Casey: Um, most

[00:21:56] Dr. Kate Dee: predict that you would need, um, [00:22:00] reconstruction and do it in, in

[00:22:01] Dr. Angela Casey: yes.

[00:22:02] Dr. Kate Dee: with a plastic surgeon or.

[00:22:04] Dr. Angela Casey: Yes, most, most of the time those patients, they're screened ahead of time at the time the biopsy is done by their referring dermatologist. So when they come in to see me for MO surgery, we already know this looks like it's gonna be a big one on the eyelid. Let's get the oculoplastic surgeons lined up so that the patient can go right from our office to their office.

[00:22:26] Dr. Angela Casey: Get everything reconstructed, but, it is tremendous. With [00:22:30] MO'S surgery, our, our cure rates approach 99%, which is like unheard of in medicine. Um, we get close to a hundred percent cure rate, and there aren't many things in medicine that have that degree of accuracy. So it's really cool and I think really reassuring to patients too.

[00:22:47] Dr. Angela Casey: And they walk into our office with their skin cancer. They walk out knowing it's gone, it's all reconstructive and they move on. So there's no waiting for results to come [00:23:00] back and have the anxiety of that. So it just, it's such a gift to do what we do. And we have the nicest patients and they are so appreciative and we often get that comment like, you know, like, this was surgery, but it was actually like, I kind of enjoyed this day with you guys.

[00:23:17] Dr. Kate Dee: That's

[00:23:18] Dr. Angela Casey: You know, you take that like in context of everything, but it, it is so awesome.

[00:23:22] Dr. Angela Casey: It is

[00:23:23] Dr. Kate Dee: people should not be scared to go get that thing checked out. Okay, so super important. [00:23:30] If you're thinking about it, you're like, oh gosh, I probably should have made that appointment by now. Like, don't be scared to do that. Almost every single thing, you just wanna treat it as soon as you know it's there.

[00:23:40] Dr. Kate Dee: and most especially, don't go to your med spa to get it checked out. I'll speak for, you know, my place in the vast majority of med spas are not staffed. Anyone that has the kind of expertise that can tell you if something's a cancer or not. And the bottom line is your dermatologist is gonna biopsy that thing.

[00:23:58] Dr. Kate Dee: Okay. Um, and they're [00:24:00] gonna biopsy, look at it, analyze it, and that's what they do. So like, go see your dermatologist when you've got a little thing and just do it early. so where can, like, how do people get resources about moss? Like how do they find a surgeon like you? What's a good resource for that?

[00:24:16] Dr. Angela Casey: So the American College of MO'S Surgery, which is just the acms.org website, um, can, has a whole list of fellowship trained, um, mo surgeons, [00:24:30] or MO surgeons that are board certified. So that is, I think, a really. Important educational point for your community? Not every individual that's doing MO'S surgery is fellowship trained.

[00:24:43] Dr. Angela Casey: and not all of them are board certified because, like anything in medicine, we can practice any procedure. I mean, I could do heart surgery if I wanted to. Like, technically it's legal, but I don't have any training in it. Um, so the American College of Mohs surgery is. A [00:25:00] really important resource, and that is different from the American Society of MO'S Surgery, uh, which is very tricky.

[00:25:09] Dr. Angela Casey: The American Society of MO'S Surgery, anybody can do it with the College of MO'S Surgery. That is the gold standard.

[00:25:18] Dr. Kate Dee: Oh my God. Okay, well we will have the link to the right place in the show notes, so nobody is confused about that. So. Well, Angela, thank you so much for [00:25:30] talking about skin cancer today. I think it's been really educational. I know it's a topic that. Nobody really wants to think about, but I think hopefully everybody at home is encouraged that like don't be scared to go get it checked out.

[00:25:41] Dr. Kate Dee: And if you do have something, definitely go to a board certified mo surgeon.

[00:25:46] Dr. Angela Casey: Absolutely. Thank you so much for the opportunity to educate your community and, um, I really appreciate the opportunity, Dr. D. Thank you.

[00:25:55] Dr. Kate Dee: Thanks for listening. If you found this helpful, do me a favor and share it with a friend who's [00:26:00] considering any aesthetic treatments. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one and drop a comment telling me your biggest takeaway. I actually read them all. Let's keep each other safe and elevate the standards in the MedSpa industry.