Skin Health

Skin cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer. Approximately 5 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year and approximately 100,000 of those are melanomas. More melanoma skin cancers are diagnosed in Nebraska than leukemia, lymphoma, uterine cancer, or bladder cancer. Melanomas only comprise a small portion of all skin cancers, but are still the 5th leading cause of new cancer cases in the US for men and women.

​

At Vitality Family Healthcare your skin health is important to us. We want to make sure you don’t have skin cancer as well as treat certain skin cancers in a convenient and affordable way. We use improved surveillance with advanced techniques including dermoscopy. This allows a noninvasive way to look at the colors and microstructures of the skin not visible to the naked eye. The benefit for you is improved diagnostic accuracy of melanoma from 74% to 90%. 

 

If a spot is concerning, our biopsies are very affordable. Depending on the type of cancer and size, we may be able to definitively treat that cancer in our office. We use techniques aimed at minimizing scarring and improving surgical outcomes.

 

Actinic keratosis, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinomas, and cosmetic lesions such as warts, seborrheic keratosis, and skin tags can oftentimes be eliminated with cryotherapy ("freezing"). This is available in our clinic at a very low price. For other lesions, a complete removal may be necessary or desired: large skin tags, cysts, dermatofibroma, warts, unpleasant scars, keloids, or larger lesions. Dr. Peterson uses excision techniques designed to minimize scarring.

 

Previous injuries or scars can leave a scar that is large, did not heal well, or has an undesired appearance. We offer scar revision to appropriate candidates, where scars can be injected, removed/ revised, or have application of sclerosing agents that improve scar appearance. We offer this service on a case-by-case basis. High risk areas or lesions would need to be referred to dermatology or plastic surgery.

 

Skin cosmetics are often a desired service as well, such as improving wrinkle lines or reducing acne scars. We can also help you with these services at Vitality Family Healthcare.