Don’t touch that sun bed. Throw on a turtle neck over the swimsuit. Here, let me rub this SPF 45 on your back. Now. There’s no cute, entertaining way to say it: Today, young women are getting skin cancer at unprecedented rates. According to a 2005 study from the Mayo clinic, basal-cell skin cancer among women from the age of 15 through 29 has risen 300 percent in 25 years. Basal-cell carcinomas are almost never lethal. But the rate of deadly melanomas has grown, too—and has been linked to the early use of tanning beds. In fact, melanoma is virtually the only form of cancer that has become more common place in the past five years.

Here’s the biggest problem with having any sort of skin cancer at a young age: Your chances of recurrence are very high. “Individuals who get one nonmelanoma skin cancer have a 50 percent risk of getting a second within two to three years,” notes Leslie J. Christenson, a dermatologic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic and the study’s lead author. “Seventy-five percent of those individuals who get two nonmelanoma skin cancers will have a third. So if these individuals start getting nonmelanoma skin cancer in their 30s instead of their 60s or 70s, they/re going to face a life time of increased risk.”

Allure spoke to women who’ve been there. Not all want to claim “survivor” status; as one who had a basal-cell growth-which has a 98 percent cure rate-put it, “I don’t want to class myself with women who are battling breast cancer or leukemia. But soon as you hear the word ‘cancer,’ your life changes. You can never feel immortal again.”

Kerry Anna Sheehy, 33

Diagnosis: As a freckled red head, Sheehy, a human resources director from Ridgewood, New Jersey, had long made a point of having regular dermatological checkups. “The funny thing is, all the spots I worried about a little turned out to be OK, and the one I hadn’t given any thought to at all—this little spot on my neck—turned out to be cancer,” she says. “I was shocked.” She was diagnosed in August 2006 with basal-cell carcinoma, “which if you have to have skin cancer, is the ‘good’ kind,” Sheehy says, since it has a high cure rate and doesn’t metastasize to other parts of the body. Left untreated, however, it will continue to grow.

Treatment: Last September, Tatiana Khrom, a member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery who practices in Summit, New Jersey, and Brooklyn, performed Mohs surgery to remove a circle of flesh from the hollow of Sheehy’s neck. Though the growth didn’t seem large to the naked eye, it took three tries for Khrom to completely get rid of the tumor. The area of skin that was removed was about the size of a quarter, and in six months the scar shrunk to the size of a dime, though it was still slightly raised and red. (Normally the edges of the skin would have been stitched up so that it would heal into a thin, barely noticeable white line, but, Sheehy says, “I am a chicken about needles and stitching, so I made Dr. Khrom leave it alone.”)

Sun protection: “I did wear sunscreen, but I wasn’t vigilant about reapplying,” Sheehy admits. “And I spent a lot of my life running outdoors and a lot of summers on the Jersey Shore.” Also, Sheehy points out, “I was an athlete at an early age—I played soccer a lot. How many little kids were always wearing sunscreen 25 years ago?”

Doctors Advice: “If you have a pimple that’s not healing for two months, something that’s itchy or bleeds, go to a dermatologist,” Khrom says. “And if he dismisses it, get a second opinion. It’s much easier and leads to a much more cosmetically elegant result to treat a growth when it’s small.”

Text from Bay News

Dr. Tatiana Khrom: Your dermatology specialist

By Camille Sperrazza

When you need a specialist, you don’t have to leave the borough.

Dr. Tatiana Khrom (2797 Ocean parkway, 718-615-4000) is one of the few board-certified, fellowship trained dermatologists in the Brooklyn area, specializing in all aspects of surgical and cosmetic dermatology.

She developed a special interest in skin cancer treatment and laser surgery while she was completing her residency in Dermatology at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Following this residency, she became one of the first nine fellows in Procedural Dermatology - a new fellowship approved by the Committee for Graduate Medical Education of the United States. As a result, she received extensive training in Mohs Micrographic Surgery, facial reconstruction, laser surgery, and various cosmetic surgical procedures.

Dr. Khrom says she is, “strongly committed to the care of her patients and the treatment of skin cancer.” She is attending physician at the Brooklyn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where she teaches residents the basics of Mohs Micrographic Surgery, varicose vein treatments, and laser surgery. She has presented nationally and is a published author of multiple textbook chapters and research articles, writing on topics that include cosmetic dermatology and skin cancer surgery.

Patients who see her receive the outstanding care such experience brings. Just as important, Dr. Khrom notes that she also has “the best available equipment out there, assuring patients that they will receive topnotch care combined with cutting edge technology. For example, my hair laser is virtually painless,” she says. “It’s very effective, and safe.” She notes that it’s effective for people with all types of skin tones, even for darker-skin patients. “The unique laser system is called Epicare, and it results in permanent hair removal in just a few treatment sessions,” she says.

You’re sure to receive top notch care from Dr. Tatiana Khrom.

She also provides, “the latest technique in facial rejuvenation, the Portrait made by Rhytec.” This is “a plasma resurfacing device that no one else has in Brooklyn,” she says. “As a matter of fact, there are only a few units in the tri-state area,” she notes.

“Treatment with this innovative device dramatically improves complexion, gets rid of brown spots, markedly decreases redness, and helps mid- and moderate-wrinkles,” she says.

For those who suffer with acne, “my medical grade microdermabrasion unit, combined with chemical peels, is dramatically effective,” she says.

When it comes to more serious matters, the doctor provides expertise in Mohs Micrographic Surgery, “a technique that provides the highest skin cancer cure rates and minimizes scarring,” she says.

When the skin cancer is removed, “it is stained, carefully diagrammed and processed by a specially trained technician who converts  the tissue into thin sectionson slides.” The physician, using a microscope, is then able to determine if all the malignant cells have been removed, she says. “Any remaining tumor can be visualized and located in the manner. The exact area where the tumor persists is then removed by taking another layer of tissue, and the process is repeated.”

Mohs  surgery allows the physician to remove as little normal tissue as possible around the tumor, the doctor says. “Thus in many cases, it can provide a superior cosmetic result.” Another advantage is that, “The entire procedure is performed in our office without the need or risks of general anesthesia or prolonged hospitalizations.” She notes that, “After the cancer is removed, reconstruction is performed to restore the appearance of the skin with the best cosmetic results.”

Mohs Micrographic Surgery is named after the doctor who developed this technique in the early 1960’s –Dr. Frederick Mohs.

Dr. Khrom is certified by the American board of Dermatology, and is an active member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. In addition, because of her many academic merits, she is Omega alpha Medical Honor Society.

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