Doctor reveals one key symptom that led him to self-diagnose his cancer that is actually quite common
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Dr. Muneeb Shah/Getty Images/NEMES LASZLO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
A doctor has detailed one key symptom that led him to self-diagnose his own cancer.
Dr Muneeb Shah was just 31 years old when he was diagnosed with a common form of skin cancer in 2021.
The doctor and dermatologist shares his health advice to over 18 million followers on TikTok with short videos on the most discussed issues.
Dr Shah had some health issues of his own recently after being diagnosed with basal cell skin cancer - something he was able to self-diagnose.
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The health expert spoke to Refinery29 about when he knew something wasn't quite right.
It was in fact when Dr Shah was completing his dermatology training that he noticed a spot on his chest, and during this stage of his career, the doctor was learning how to spot skin cancer on patients.
Well, it just so happened to be the doctor was displaying a common symptom of the disease.
"It didn't look scary - it was simply a pink, itchy bump that could be mistaken for a pimple or an ingrown hair," he said.
"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 continued: "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 it examined via a biopsy two months after he first spotted it on his chest, with the health professional having his assumptions on what it may have been.
"My top suspicion was that this was going to be a basal cell skin cancer or squamous cell skin cancer," he explained.
"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."
After his diagnosis, Dr Shah opted for Mohs surgery, which is described as a 'controlled surgery' to removed skin cancer.
"I wanted Mohs surgery so that it was completely gone, because I knew the worst case scenario," he said.
Now post-op, Dr Shah is encouraging folks to get themselves checked if something doesn't look or feel right.
"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 added.