Our dermatologists and support team are here to help you safeguard the health of your skin. We take the time to evaluate you thoroughly and explain your treatment options in detail. We encourage you to involve family members or other loved ones in your care decisions, should that be helpful to you.
You might want to ask your doctor about:
Doctors classify actinic keratosis by where it shows up on the body and how cells look under a microscope. When actinic keratosis develops on the lip, it’s called actinic cheilitis.
Our doctors are trained to recognize common and rare forms of actinic keratosis. This expertise helps us deliver the most appropriate treatment for you.
Actinic keratosis can affect any part of the body. Growths most often develop on areas (like the face, head and hands) that get a lot of sun exposure over many years.
Actinic keratosis symptoms commonly include a patch of skin that:
Doctors usually diagnose actinic keratosis by looking at the area in question during a thorough skin evaluation. In some cases, our specialists remove a tiny sample of tissue (called a biopsy) to analyze cells under a microscope.
You can take steps to help prevent skin cancer by carefully checking your skin (head to toe) for unusual changes. Doctors recommend you do a monthly skin check. You should also follow safe sun habits, like wearing sun protective clothing such as hats or shirts (identified on tags by the SPF 50+ label) or applying sunscreen 20 minutes before going outside.
Doctors recommend treating actinic keratosis. Doctors can’t predict which actinic keratoses will eventually turn into cancer.
Our specialists tailor your treatment to your case, such as where the growth is on your body and your overall health. We go over all treatment options with you and decide together which therapies fit your situation. Learn more about cancer treatments.
Our specialists may recommend one or more treatments, including:
