May was Melanoma Awareness Month and CANSA highlights the stories of two survivors living with skin cancer to help educate and promote early detection of cancer. Melanoma, though less common than other skin cancers, is lethal. Exposure of the skin to excessive ultraviolet (UV) radiation in childhood, increases the risk of melanoma later in life. Though it may be possible to have a melanoma even if you haven’t had extreme UV exposure.  Some melanomas are extremely aggressive and progress rapidly within a few months. Early detection of melanoma is key to improved survival outcomes with five-year survival rates being…

Dr Tshepo Mokwena explains Mohs surgery for skin cancer. What is Mohs surgery? Also referred to as Mohs micrographic surgery, it’s a precise surgical technique used to treat different types of skin cancers.  During Mohs surgery, thin layers of cancer-containing skin are adequately removed, and microscopically examined until only cancer-free tissue remains.  The principle of Mohs surgery was developed, in 1938, by a general surgeon, Frederic E. Mohs, and the process was modified and perfected with modern technology to date. The state-of-the-art procedure allows a specialist dermatologist to be a surgeon (Mohs surgeon), a pathologist and a reconstructive surgeon. The process…