A physician has shared a significant symptom that helped him identify his own cancer.
Dr. Muneeb Shah was only 31 when he discovered he had a prevalent type of skin cancer in 2021.
Currently, Dr. Shah educates an audience of over 18 million on TikTok, offering health tips through brief videos that tackle prominent health issues.
Recently, Dr. Shah faced personal health challenges after diagnosing himself with basal cell skin cancer.
In an interview with Refinery29, the doctor discussed the moment he realized something was amiss.
During his dermatology residency, Dr. Shah noticed an unusual spot on his chest while focusing on identifying skin cancer in patients.
Coincidentally, he exhibited a common warning sign of the condition.
“It didn’t look scary – it was simply a pink, itchy bump that could be mistaken for a pimple or an ingrown hair,” he explained.
“I kept an eye on it, and one day when I happened to scratch it, the surface came off easily and it started to bleed.”
He added: “I tried to look at it with my phone and my dermatoscope, a tool that helps to magnify the blood vessels within the lesion. That’s when I started to think, maybe this is skin cancer.”
Dr. Shah had a biopsy conducted two months after first noticing the spot, which confirmed his initial suspicions.
“My top suspicion was that this was going to be a basal cell skin cancer or squamous cell skin cancer,” he stated.
“I tend to give counselling to the patient before I know the diagnosis, so I was doing that to myself in a way. It took three days for the results to come back and it was as I had suspected: a basal cell skin cancer.”
Following the confirmation of his condition, Dr. Shah chose to undergo Mohs surgery, a procedure known for its precision in removing skin cancers.
“I wanted Mohs surgery so that it was completely gone, because I knew the worst case scenario,” he mentioned.
In recovery, Dr. Shah advises others to seek medical advice if they notice any unusual changes in their skin.
“For men, the most common site for skin cancer is the back and for women it’s the legs. These areas are more challenging to see, so it’s always important to check your body,” he emphasized.