Wart that Won't Stop Growing

Everyone has heard of the painful plantar warts that are common in children and older adults. You know that when you step down and put pressure on them that they will be very painful. Many of you have also heard that they can be treated by freezing them repeatedly or with acid to burn them off. What you may not know is that there is a type of skin cancer that can look like a wart, but it will continue to grow and has been known to take over a very large percentage of skin of a person't foot.

So, how will you know the difference? The true way to know the difference is to biopsy the wart. Some other signs to look for though are that the lesion keeps growing and getting larger, that it is a strange shape with irregular edges and that the wart is not the same color throughout. All of these things point to cancer and point to you needing to see your doctor immediately.

The question many people would have at this point is what can be done? Since this is an aggressive skin condition that will continue to grow the treatment is excision. Your podiatrist will talk to you about potential treatment, but ultimately, once that wart has converted to a cancerous lesion, it needs to be removed from your skin. Prevention for skin cancer on your feet is to not forget to put sunscreen on your feet when you are out and about. It is a commonly missed area and unfortunately is an area that has skin just like everywhere else for you and can get cancerous lesions.

If you notice any lesion on your foot that is changing shape and characterisitcs you should seek care from your podiatrist. There could be a lesion that needs to be biopsied just in case, so it’s always important to get it checked out. If you live in the Dracut or Reading, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your feet. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.