
Dr Todd Schlesinger: Treatment for Early-Stage Melanomas Can Be Safely Delayed During the Pandemic
We can safely delay excising in situ and early-stage melanomas while managing our patients’ care, noted Todd Schlesinger, MD, FAAD, director, Dermatology and Laser Center of Charleston and Clinical Research Center of the Carolinas.
We can safely delay excising in situ and early-stage melanomas while managing our patients’ care, noted Todd Schlesinger, MD, FAAD, director, Dermatology and Laser Center of Charleston and Clinical Research Center of the Carolinas.
Transcript
How has the management of patients with advanced skin cancers changed from before the pandemic?
The pandemic has changed how we look at
We've also had to do a lot of telemedicine discussion and sort of diagnosis over telemedicine, which has been more difficult, I think, for skin cancer patients to have something shown to us over Zoom or something like that. It's not as easy as seeing, of course, that lesion in the office.
Those things, I think, are the main consideration.
But I think the main change will be more with a melanoma, that we now sort of have that understanding that excision in 90 days or less of an early-stage melanoma will not affect the outcome of the patient very much at all.
Newsletter
Stay ahead of policy, cost, and value—subscribe to AJMC for expert insights at the intersection of clinical care and health economics.