El melanoma es la forma más mortal de cáncer de piel. Si se detecta y trata a tiempo, no tiene por qué ser fatal. Sin embargo, incluso en 2020, todavía hay muchos conceptos erróneos sobre esta tercera forma más común de cáncer de piel. Con demasiada frecuencia, estos conceptos erróneos impiden que las personas tomen las precauciones necesarias para prevenirla y busquen atención médica cuando muestran posibles signos de la misma.
Even doctors too often fail to recognize melanoma in time to treat it successfully. In fact, delayed diagnoses and misdiagnoses of melanoma have led to some of the largest malpractice awards in the field of dermatology.
One of the most common and dangerous misconceptions around melanoma is that only Caucasian people can get it. People who are African American, Hispanic, Asian, and other races often believe that they can’t get melanoma or other forms of skin cancer. They associate it with people who are white, and particularly with people who have extremely fair skin.
That belief is often rooted in the fact that people with darker skin have more melanin. Melanin does provide some protection from the harmful effects of the sun; however, it does not provide as much protection as even a lotion with SPF 30.
One African American dermatologist says that he encourages all of his patients, regardless of their skin color, to wear sunscreen with a minimum SPF 30, do regular self-exams, and have any suspicious spots or moles checked by a dermatologist.
Los afroamericanos tienen aproximadamente una cuarta parte de probabilidades de desarrollar melanoma y otros tipos de cáncer de piel que los blancos. Sin embargo, cuando lo hacen, a menudo no se diagnostica hasta que ha entrado en una etapa más avanzada. Los afroamericanos tienen 1,5 veces más probabilidades de morir de melanoma que los blancos.
Melanoma Misdiagnosis in Texas
As we noted, early diagnosis and proper treatment can significantly improve a person’s chances of surviving skin cancer, even melanoma. If you or a loved one’s melanoma was misdiagnosed or there was a delay in diagnosis due to a doctor’s negligence or error, it’s wise to determine whether you have grounds to file a civil lawsuit by talking to an experienced abogado de negligencia médica.
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