NZSCM Conference 2015 - Highlights part 2
Last month you may remember I was lucky enough to attend the state of the art 2015 NZ Society of Cosmetic Medicine Conference with a host of world leading Cosmetic Medicine experts. In last months column I summarised Microbotox; Platelet Rich Plamsa for joint and tendon problems, skin and hair rejuvenation and scarring and stretch marks; and nurse injectors. In this second of two columns I’ll summarise the rest of the ground-breaking and improved treatment options in cosmetic and regenerative medicine.
Skin cancer: One of the biggest shocks of the conference is that, latest statistics show that just 11 per cent of us use sunscreen daily and more than three-quarters of people get sunburnt more than once a year. Also, alarmingly, 1 in 3 people still want a tan from the sun! That's despite NZ skin cancer rates being the highest in the world with around 67,000 new skin cancers per year. A recent study of 1,621 Australians found that regular sunscreen use reduces the incidence of melanoma (the most dangerous form of skin cancer) by 50-73 percent! There are few other things you can do that will reduce your risk of any cancer by such a huge percentage. Some people worry that sunscreen will reduce their Vitamin D levels. However trusted research shows that regular sunscreen doesn’t reduce vitamin D as our bodies can only make a certain amount of vitamin D from the sun. After reaching this limit (within minutes), further sun has an opposite effect, breaking down vitamin D into inactive chemicals. As well as skin cancer the sun also causes early ageing, such as wrinkles, age spots and ugly scaly skin lesions. These skin lesions can be treated but this can be costly and involve multiple visits. As always, prevention is better than cure.
One presenter highlighted how hard it is to accurately diagnose skin cancers. Even specialist dermatologists are only able to accurately diagnose certain types of skin cancer 40% of the time. The solution offered by the speaker (and advice I often give) is that it is better to biopsy skin lesions to be certain. It is a simple, relatively painless procedure that takes the guesswork out. This is because the biopsy sample is sent to the lab for a definite diagnosis. Lastly, regarding skin cancer, a great study mentioned at the conference showed that oral Vitamin B3 (niacinamide), helps to lower the incidence of some skin cancers. See us for expert diagnosis and treatment of skin lesions and for your B3 (and other) supplements.
Face shaping: There were a large number of speakers from Asia, who highlighted the desire of their Asian and European patients to achieve a more heart shaped face. I’ve personally had many clients that prefer a more heart shaped face. Shaping faces can be done naturally and relatively non-invasively.
"See the expert team at The Chandler Clinic for your professional and natural cosmetic medicine and skin cancer diagnosis and treatments.
ABOVE: Melanoma./ This lesion is clearly not benign. Is it however a basal cell carinoma or melanoma? Once again there is significant asymmetry of colour and structure with prominent blue-white structures (asterisks), It is difficult to decide wheter a pigment network is present or not (arrows).
