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Posts from the ‘Patients’ Category

Jun 27

MVP MAGAZINE FEATURE: ANYONE CAN LIFEGUARD

Beach season is here! Let’s talk about safety.

What hazards come with summertime and do they pose any real risk of injury or death? Since the popularity of the movie Jaws, shark attacks are one of the dangers people fear most at the beach. The real risk of death from a shark attack is less than one in 265 million. What about weather-related deaths, such as lighting strike at the beach? In a 12-year period, 18 lighting-related deaths were reported on beaches (out of 60 million annual US beachgoers), bringing that risk to 1 in 40 million. Watercraft injuries such as jet skis are one of the riskier water activities. What are the odds that operating a jet ski at the beach will kill you? Well, around 40 people each year are killed in jet ski accidents in the United States (out of the 1 million Americans that utilize them), equating to a 1 in 25,000 risk. Now, let’s talk about the most prevalent danger you may face this summer. A threat that kills nearly 7500 people in the United States each year placing the lifetime risk of death at 1 in 400 for fair-skinned Americans. Curious?

The statistics prove there is one danger that far outpaces sharks, lightning and jet ski deaths; that danger is melanoma. Melanoma is caused by ultraviolet radiation (UV) damaging the DNA of the skin cells. The good news is, prevention is possible and melanoma is curable if caught and treated early. Primary prevention is being aware of the dangers of UV exposure and the importance of the use of sunscreen and protective clothing. How can you be a melanoma lifeguard at the beach this summer? Always apply a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF factor of 30 or higher. Bring an extra bottle of sunscreen and share it with friends and family members, reminding them to reapply every two hours. You may have heard that it’s a good idea to get an early sunburn to jumpstart your summer tan. This is false! When possible, seek shade between 10 AM and 2 PM and wear protective clothing when in the sun.

While at the beach, if you see someone with a dark spot that is oddly shaped (asymmetric), has irregular or uneven borders, has multiple colors, has a diameter greater than 6mm (width of a pencil), or is evolving, tell the person to see a dermatologist immediately. Often times, when someone else points out an area of concern it reinforces that the spot is not normal and they need to have it examined professionally. While this may be an uncomfortable conversation, the staff at our office has saved lives by telling people in the checkout line with dark moles on their backs or legs to come in and see us; and in many cases, it turned out to be melanoma.

When it comes to selecting the right sunscreen, these days it is hard to make a wrong choice. Almost all of the products on the shelves have broad-spectrum protection. Personally, I like the Neutrogena line of sunscreens. They come in a variety of formulations (sprays and lotions) and contain either a chemical sunscreen or a physical sunblock. Also, the sun protective clothing options have increased exponentially over the last decade. I generally recommend the Columbia brand because it is often the easiest to find. I remind patients to protect their head and ears with a wide-brimmed hat and their eyes and eyelids with polarized UV blocking sunglasses.

Much like the Disney movie Ratatouille, which repeats the theme that “Anyone Can Cook,” the same is true of preventing and detecting skin cancer, “ANYONE CAN LIFEGUARD.” So, you don’t have to be on Baywatch to be a lifesaver. All you need is a bottle of sunscreen and the courage to point out that funny looking spot to a friend or even a stranger. A simple skin exam could save a life.

Jun 14

MVP MAGAZINE FEATURE: TOUGH ON CANCER. SENSITIVE ON SKIN.

Did you know that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime? The good news is, when detected and treated early, skin cancer is highly curable. Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer with more than 4 million cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common form of skin cancer. More than 1 million cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Melanoma accounts for less than one percent of skin cancer cases, but the vast majority of skin cancer deaths.

One of the most effective treatment options for skin cancer is Mohs micrographic surgery. Mohs is a highly specialized and precise treatment for skin cancer in which the cancer is removed in stages, one tissue layer at a time. Mohs surgery is the only treatment method that allows the evaluation of skin cancer cells during the in-office procedure, which results in the highest cure rate possible while removing the least amount of normal tissue. It has become the gold standard for skin cancer treatment.

A lesser-known treatment option is Superficial Radiation Therapy or SRT for short. SRT is a painless, safe, and highly effective, non-surgical option for non-melanoma skin cancer treatment. It is revolutionizing skin cancer treatment in a dermatological setting. Unlike traditional radiation that delivers massive amounts of energy that penetrates deep into the body and can cause severe skin reactions, SRT utilizes a small, portable device that delivers very low energy just below the surface of the skin. It treats only skin cancers. Because SRT uses low energy radiotherapy, skin reactions are typically mild and very small. Along with eliminating the risks for post-surgical infections and complications, SRT provides patients with a safe and effective treatment option that offers many benefits, including a 95% + cure rate, no anesthesia, no bleeding, no downtime, no stitches, and no scarring. Most insurances as well as Medicare cover SRT.

Over the past three decades, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined. If you find yourself or a loved one dealing with a skin cancer diagnosis, consider all your treatment options before deciding on a care plan. Speaking with a skin cancer expert, such as a board-certified dermatologist, is a great place to start. We can help you develop a comprehensive treatment plan tailored to your needs and diagnosis.

Nov 3

MVP MAGAZINE FEATURE: HEALTHY HEALTHCARE LEADERS

I wanted to share the following magazine article from the October/November 2017 issue of MVP that I was recently featured in as a Healthy Healthcare Leader. I am a strong proponent of working fitness into your everyday routine regardless of how busy your life may be. As a 41 year old physician with a wife and 3 young children, I cannot stress enough how important it is to find time to maintain your best overall health. For me, it is all about creating a healthy work-life balance in your life and making time for exercise.

Dr. Ward founded Dermatology Specialists of Florida in 2006. He grew up in nearby DeFuniak Springs, but now lives in Panama City, Florida. Dr. Ward attended the University of Florida for both undergraduate and medical school. His hobbies include going to Florida Gator athletic events, traveling with his family, and snow skiing.

Being a physician, practice owner, husband, and father means that finding the time and energy to maintain a healthy lifestyle and personal fitness is a continual challenge. He makes a commitment to staying fit by having a motivating personal trainer at the gym for three hours a week. Dr. Ward believes you are what you eat, and as a result prioritizes a well-balanced diet for himself, one focused on high protein and low-fat content. Dr. Ward also keeps his skin healthy by wearing sunscreen every day, especially when enjoying fishing, boating, or hanging out with his friends and family at the beach.

Favorite quote or motto – I have two:

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Carpe Diem.” – Horace

Who has been your biggest inspiration in your life and why?
My grandmother was definitely one of the biggest heroes in my life. She became a registered nurse and was my first influence and exposure to the health care field. She was an amazing lady who left everyone she touched better in some way.

Are you involved in any community projects/events/fundraisers?
I have been involved for many years with the Covenant Hospice Mask Gala. My wife and I chaired last year’s event, which raised over $130,000. Hospice care is so important and something we all will need at some time in our lives. I saw the amazing care firsthand when my mother-in-law passed and those nurses are truly angels on earth.

Do you have any hidden talents?
I can touch my nose with my tongue! I can also play a pretty mean game of dominoes.

What is something most people don’t know about you?
I grew up on a farm and spent summer in middle and high school picking fruits and vegetables in the morning, and selling them to grocery stores and at a roadside stand in the afternoon and evenings. We used the money to send my oldest brother to college.

If you could redesign the food pyramid without any dire health or weight gain consequences how would it look?
Fried foods would definitely be at the top and ice cream would be removed from dairy and just be its own group!

Nov 1

THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT TO HELP WITH NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

This Holiday Season is the perfect time to give yourself or your loved one the gift of confidence. Unless you were born with superhuman resolve or the perfect genetic code, there are always going to be stubborn pockets of fat that haunt the average person. For men, it’s generally the midsection. Lower abdominal fat and “love handles” are apparent in even those that hit the gym regularly. Even though the “dad bod” has gained some degree of acceptance, do men really want to keep that stubborn fat? I think not.

Women experience the same stubborn fat, but we find they request treatments for the upper arms, the inner thighs, and under the chin most often. These are women who have been dieting and exercising, and just need a little extra help. Prior to this decade, the only solution for these problem areas was liposuction. A very effective option, but also very invasive.

In 2010, the FDA approved a revolutionary device that has changed the approach to non-invasive fat reduction. Coolsculpting is a device that uses suction and cooling to freeze the fat cells (along with the skin) to selectively destroy the fat. I am a true believer in the technology and have had several treatments with Coolsculpting myself over the years. I, like most men, have the stubborn midsection fat and Coolsculpting has changed my level of confidence when outdoors or at the beach. Taking off my shirt used to be a bit embarrassing and now it’s no big deal. That is a gift that lasts a lifetime.

There are many fat reduction devices on the market, but Coolscupting has a distinct advantage over the other devices; it has been FDA approved. Most of the other devices are simply FDA cleared. For a device to be FDA approved, it has to show safety and efficacy. It simply has to show safety to be FDA cleared. A device that is only cleared may only make your wallet thinner. These cleared devices use light energy and are combined with a special diet. They also are generally promoted by doctors with no formal cosmetic certifications.

We have been offering Coolsculpting since 2011 and have performed over a thousand procedures. Our licensed aestheticians have all received extensive training, which has given us the distinction of being a Coolsculpting Center of Excellence. If you are going to give yourself, or someone you love, the gift of confidence, you can do so knowing the choice of technology and best-practice is the right one at Dermatology Specialists of Florida and Aqua Medical Spa.

Feb 14

A FACELIFT WITHOUT THE SURGERY–THE SILHOUETTE INSTALIFT 

With results lasting up to 2 years, many of of our patients are finding the Silhouette Instalift to be a great way to achieve natural enhancements to their face, without the major costs of a traditional facelift. Our team at the Aqua Medical Spa is thrilled to provide this minimally invasive treatment for both women and men, along with our comprehensive dermal filler and Botox treatments. The Silhouette InstaLift is easily integrated into the treatment plans of our patients who seek a minimally invasive way to reshape their face and restore volume. Watch this video to learn more about how we’re using this one-hour procedure and state-of-the-art suspension sutures to deliver amazing results.

Feb 10

LIFE SAVED: PRICELESS

The most important skill that a dermatologist hones over time is visual pattern recognition. With experience, our eyes basically can scan the skin and be immediately drawn to the “Where’s Waldo?” spot that is hiding among the plethora of otherwise benign spots. Recently, I had a patient with melanoma that placed the important pattern recognition as a potential weakness. While there are scattered case reports of melanomas that look like completely benign skin lesions, it took thirteen years and nearly 100,000 skin exams to find one of these cases.

This honing of pattern recognition plus today’s intense scrutiny by both the insurance companies and, if you see Medicare patients, the federal government, has led most dermatologists to decrease their number of biopsies to remain under the bell curve. To better determine the value of early detection versus too many biopsies, biostatisticians at the University of Missouri- Kansas City recently published a study looking at the economic impact of diagnosing melanoma six months earlier in the course of disease. They factored in the cost of a simple skin biopsy and the cost of care for a more invasive melanoma six months down the road in a course of treatment. For instance, the new drug for metastatic melanoma, Keytruda, is over $150,000 per year of therapy. The outcome of their study is that not counting the value of a saved human life, the pure cost savings justifies 170 benign biopsies for every melanoma detected.

To put that number into perspective: In our practice, approximately 40% of all of our biopsies are positive for cancer or precancer. We diagnose over 100 melanomas a year and are well short of the 17,000 benign biopsies that would be justified. But let’s get back to that patient – I shared the photo with my colleagues and every one of them agreed that it looked like a textbook photo of a benign seborrheic keratosis (a mark of maturity). I removed the lesion because it was bothering the patient and, as we always do, sent it off for pathology just in case. You could imagine my surprise when I received the urgent message from the pathologist with his case report.

However, it is not all bad news. The melanoma was caught early, it was less than 1mm, which is considered low risk for metastasis, and a simple excision was all that was required to give a likely cure. The patient is doing well and is grateful that we were able to get a fast result and provide definitive treatment. That patient did not care about the potential injudicious use of biopsy for an apparent benign lesion that saved his life. In life, there will always be those that find fault in others and I have heard complaints that “this dermatologist” or “that dermatologist” removes more spots than others. What I can tell you as a skin cancer specialist is that a biopsy never killed any of my patients and that, in most cases, they leave little to no scar. An undiagnosed melanoma is a killer and I have had the misfortune on too many occasions to deliver bad news to patients who either never previously saw a dermatologist, or saw one that felt like biopsies should only be performed when you are pretty certain it’s a cancer.

Physicians are here to save lives, not fail to deliver care to save a few dollars. Center for Medicare Services recently awarded our practice with a top 1% commendation for high quality and low cost. So, as American Express likes to do in their commercial – Cost of the office visit: $129. Cost of the biopsy and pathology: $267. Life saved: Priceless.