The C word

Among the few benefits there was to having Parkinson's Disease had been the theory that along with the diagnosis comes a reduction in the likelihood of getting most cancers. Recently, however, various studies have been poking holes in that belief. While the debate still goes on as to whether Parkinson's helps or hurt certain cancer formations all conclude that Parkinson's Disease patients have a MUCH higher rate of skin cancer than the 'normal' population. From double to nearly four times more likely depending on who you listen to.  So after conversing with my neurologist, her recommendation was to get an examination by a dermatologist and repeat them yearly.

With that knowledge, I immediately called the dermatologist office to set up the appointment - Ugh, six-week wait.  If you've read some of my earlier posts you would know that I don't wait very well.  If there is something that needs to be checked I want to do it now.
The wait went quicker than expected with Christmas and New Years acting as a nice diversion and now it was appointment day.  The exam was pretty quick also. Under a magnifying glass, the dermatologist examined anything that looked other than what could be called normal skin.  She called out what she saw to a waiting nurse that diligently clicked away on the computer capturing all my abnormalities. The dermatologist did reassure me that even though some of the words she used sounded a bit frightening what she is seeing are just normal things one finds on the skin of a 50+ year-old person.  That is until....she gets to the back of my neck.  "Hmmm", she says, "tell me about his mole on the back of your neck."  Not exactly the words you want to hear when they are examining you for skin cancer. So a quick poke for a sample (actually a biopsy but the word sounds much more ominous than sample) and off to the lab it goes.  7-10 days until diagnosis. Great, more waiting.  As I said, I don't do that very well.

The information is somewhat muddled out there on whether having Parkinson's Disease helps or hurts you with the rate of getting cancer.  Some studies show a reduction of some types of cancer while others show an increase in others.  Overall though, the message is pretty clear: Skin Cancers, especially melanomas are increased with having Parkinson's.  So to my Parkie friends out there, please go and get yourself examined.  It's quick and painless and if they find something early on it is 100% treatable.


Good Article here- describing the connection between Parkinson's and skin cancer

An article describing reduced risk of some cancers (non-skin type) - here

Recent study claiming higher incidence of 16 types of Cancer in Parkinson's patients here

Excellent guide here for dealing with melanoma's  -