Learn About Skin Cancer Awareness

As a contractor for Medicare, Acentra Health serves as the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization, also referred to as a BFCC-QIO. While Acentra Health provides BFCC-QIO services in 29 states, the general information is relevant to everyone who has Medicare (including Medicare Advantage) and everyone who works with people who have Medicare. 

This episode is a conversation with our guest, Dr. Angeline Brunetto, Associate Medical Director for Acentra Health. She will share information about skin cancer awareness to commemorate Skin Cancer Awareness Month, which is the May health observance.

For more information about Acentra Health BFCC-QIO, please visit www.acentraqio.com.

KEY TOPICS

00:24: Overview, introduction of Dr. Angeline Brunetto 

01:16: Why does sun safety matter?

02:57: What causes skin cancer?

03:19: How can you protect your skin?

05:08: ABCDEs of Melanoma

07:40: Final thoughts

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RESOURCES

BFCC-QIO Information for stakeholders: www.acentraqio.com/partners

BFCC-QIO Information for people who have Medicare: www.acentraqio.com/bene

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Public health information on skin cancer basics, risk factors, sun safety, and prevention -
https://www.cdc.gov/skin-cancer/

National Cancer Institute (NCI) – Patient-oriented info on skin cancer (including melanoma), prevention, screening, treatment, and research -
https://www.cancer.gov/types/skin

Music: Motivational Upbeat Corporate by RinkevichMusic 

https://soundcloud.com/rinkevichmusic

https://protunes.net/

Video Link: https://bit.ly/3NNqGTs

Transcript

Welcome to Aging Health Matters, a podcast from Acentra Health, a Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization. We plan to cover healthcare topics for the Medicare population. Information in today's show may help you or someone you know in their healthcare journey. Thanks for joining us. Now let's get started.  
 
Hi everyone, I am Dr. Angeline Brunetto. I am a Medical Director for Appeals, and I will be your host today for Aging Health Matters. Acentra Health is the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization for 29 states. We help people with Medicare who have concerns about their health care. We can help you appeal if you're leaving the hospital too soon, if skilled services like physical therapy are ending too early, or if you were changed from inpatient in the hospital to observation. We also offer Immediate Advocacy services to help fix problems quickly with medical care or services. More information is available on our website at acentraqio.com.
 
So welcome. And today we're going to talk about skin cancer prevention and sun safety for people with Medicare. You may be asking why this matters. Well, as we age, our skin gets thinner, and it's more sensitive, keeping track of every hour we've spent in the sun. Sun exposure and damage build up over time, which is why skin cancer becomes more common later in life. The good news is that when skin cancer is found early, it's highly treatable. Medicare typically covers visits to your doctor, to have a new or a changing spot on your skin exam as long as the visit is medically necessary. 

And today we're going to talk about how to protect your skin and how to know when it's time to call your doctor. We hear about cancer almost every day. It's on the news. It's in the newspaper. We see it in our doctor's office or maybe even have friends or family that have been diagnosed with cancer. But what is it? Cancer occurs when normal cells in the body become altered, and they begin to grow uncontrollably. Because they grow so much faster than normal, these abnormal cells can invade nearby tissues and even spread to other parts of the body.
 
Cancers are generally named for the type of cell where they began. There are several main types of skin cancer. The most common are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Melanoma, which develops from pigment-producing cells called melanocytes, is less common but much more serious if it's not detected early. If your provider finds a spot on your skin that looks concerning, Medicare will usually cover the test and the treatments needed to determine what's going on. 

So what causes skin cancer? The main cause of skin cancer is overexposure to ultraviolet or UV rays, as they're known, whether it's from the sun or even from artificial sources such as sun lamps and tanning beds. While you should totally avoid sun lamps and tanning beds entirely, you don't have to avoid being outdoors. Just take steps to protect your skin, and there's many ways that you can do that. When you're outside, you can cover up. You can wear a wide-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses. There's even clothing that you can purchase that has SPF protection in it. And SPF is the sun protection factor, so you can stay covered. 

Now what do you do in the in the warmer months or on a hot day? Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF or sun protection factor of 30 or greater, and you use that on the exposed areas of your body, usually your face, your neck, your arms, hands, and don't forget your ears. Now, if you're outside and you're going to be outside for a while, you're going to want to reapply your sunscreen every two hours. If you're swimming or you're working outside and sweating a lot, you're going to want to reapply every hour. And if you can, try to stay in the shade during peak sun hours, and that's usually between 10:00 in the morning and 4:00 in the afternoon. 

Now I know what you may be thinking, and a common myth is I've been in the sun my whole life. It's too late now. That's not true. Protecting your skin now still matters and can help reduce additional damage and potentially prevent medical treatments later. Now, how do you check your skin? One of the most important things that you can do is check your skin about once a month. That means just take a look over all of the skin, and if you're having a hard time, you can even use a mirror, taking a look at your backside, or ask your partner to take a look as well. You're looking for anything new or anything that's changing.
 
Now doctors, they sometimes use a mnemonic of the ABCDEs of melanoma, and you don't need to memorize the medical terms. It's just a simple way to know what to watch for. A is for asymmetry. This means if 1/2 of the spot of the lesion that you're looking at doesn't match the other half, you should have that checked. That's a red flag, something to be concerned about.

B is for the border. You're looking at the edges of the spot or the lesion. Are they uneven? Jagged? Are they blurry? Do they not look smooth? That is something that should be eye-catching as well and something that you should have checked out.
 
C is for color, so be cautious if one if a spot has more than one color. Most of the time, we think of moles as having shades of brown, but you're looking for different shades of brown. Is there black in there? Red? And sometimes even white or blue, that is something that needs to be looked at as well.
 
D is for diameter. Spots larger than a pencil eraser can be a concern, but the smaller ones you're going to want to keep an eye on too, if they have unusual colors, if they're asymmetrical, if their borders look anything other than smooth, or if the colors are all different variations. Or even if it's changing. 

E is for evolving, and that's kind of one of the biggest ones, and it's especially important. If a spot is changing in size, shape, color, it starts to itch, bleed, or has crusting, get it checked. And by getting it checked, that means go to see your doctor or even a dermatologist who is a skin specialist. They can actually do skin mapping where they can put on their medical records or on your chart where they see some spots that they're keeping an eye on, and the next time you get checked, they can see if there's any new ones compared to what they've documented previously.
 
Now, it's important to know that skin cancer doesn't always look like a mole. A sore that doesn't heal or a new growth is worth a visit to your provider. Now remember, Medicare generally covers visits to evaluate suspicious skin changes. And if a biopsy or treatment is needed, that's usually covered depending on your plan. So remember, when skin cancer is found early, it is highly treatable.
 
So to recap what we've talked about already, sun damage to skin builds up over time, and skin cancer is seen more often later in life. Protect your skin from the sun, check it regularly, and don't ignore changes. If something looks new or different, call your primary care provider or dermatologist and have that visit to have it checked out. If you're unsure about coverage, you can call the number on your Medicare card or ask your provider's office for help. Taking care of your skin is part of staying healthy and independent.

If you would like more information about Acentra Health’s services, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter as well as subscribe to our YouTube channel. Our Helpline phone number as well as the link to our website to sign up for our newsletter will be in the Show Notes. Thank you so much for listening, and please stay tuned for our next episode of Aging Health Matters. Have a great day.

For more information about skin cancer, visit the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC. They provide public health information on skin cancer basics, risk factors, sun safety, and prevention. You can also visit the website for the National Cancer Institute. They offer patient-oriented information on skin cancer (including melanoma), prevention, screening, treatment, and research. Websites will all be listed in the Show Notes.