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Mercy Dermatologist Dr. Oanh Lauring

Mercy Dermatologist Dr. Oanh Lauring Discusses How Drug Used In Chemotherapy May Help Look Of Aging Skin

Lots of men and women who have spent too many hours in the sun over the years can develop scaly, red spots that could develop into skin cancer if not dealt with.

But there's a cream that could help, and it has some side benefits.

Kathleen Pieper first saw a dermatologist because of a suspicious mole. That led to a full-body scan and a check of her skin for precancerous lesions.

"She found these areas of dry, scaly skin that were evidence of the precancerous cells that were part of the sun damage that I had," Pieper said.

Mercy dermatologist Dr. Oanh Lauring put Pieper on Solarraze gel. The active component in it is fluorouracil.

"The way this medication works, they think, is that it targets cells that are rapidly dividing, cells that are making lots of DNA like cancer cells, so when it gets incorporated to these types of cells, it actually kills those cells," Dr. Lauring said.

The reaction to it can be quite vigorous, but people using the gel end up with the smoother, softer skin that's underneath.

"If you touch it, it's smoother, and previous to treatment it was crusty and rough," Dr. Lauring said.

Pieper said she was pleased with the results.

"Absolutely. The places on my face used to be very red and scaly, and they're not that way now at all," she said.

She said the medicine has left her with younger looking skin as a side benefit.

If you have had a lot of sun exposure, or if skin cancer runs in the family, you should have your skin examined once a year by a dermatologist. For more information and to view Dr. Lauring's interview on WBAL-TV11's "The Woman's Doctor," click this link: http://www.wbaltv.com/womansdoctor/20266700/detail.html.