Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Sufficient communication essential for treatment
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Cho So-yun, 42, chair at the department of dermatology at Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, said that as the skin is the largest organ of the human body, dermatological research is essential to raise the quality of life.
Dedicated to treating patients and researching pathology, Cho won the third Asia-Pacific La Roche-Posay Foundation Award for clinical research section with a project titled "A study on the prognostic value of clinical and histopathological features of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans in Korean patients" in December.
Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a rare tumor in the dermis layer of the skin. It makes the skin lump together and can cause death if metastasized to other organs. The symptoms are similar to that of keloid, or an overgrown scar, and is difficult to be distinguished.
Cho collected only 65 cases of the neoplasm in three hospitals ― Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center ― from 2000 to 2009.
"The skin tumor could be dangerous if neglected, but there was very little research done due to its uncommonness," Cho told The Korea Times. "I hope to set up points of reference of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, so other dermatologists can diagnose the neoplasm as soon as possible."
Cho chose the medical field because she wanted to help other people based on professional knowledge and the belief led her to be a dermatologist, who can see patients in person while conducting pathology.
"Cutaneous disease is closely related to the quality of life, but it is not directly related to life and death. So it is difficult for dermatological research to be funded by the state," she said. "I am grateful that La Roche-Posay is interested in supporting doctors dedicated to pure research, not only developing their cosmetic products."
She is also interested in other disease making skin hard and will continue researching the area.
For healthy skin
As a skin specialist at a general hospital, Cho handles about 100 patients a day.
"As time goes by, I’ve learned that listening carefully to patients is the best treatment. The clue to skin ailments often lies in the patient's words and I think sufficient communication between the doctor and the patient is the fundamental of the treatment," the dermatologist said.
She has many regular patients who visit her for more than 10 years. "I always try to listen to my patients and that might be the reason why they return to me," she said.
Cho emphasized that skin disease should be treated as early as possible by dermatology specialists.
"For example, atopic dermatitis or acne is a kind of skin disease and can be treated by skin doctor. However, people distrust doctors after obtaining wrong information from the Internet such as steroid phobia," she said.
The doctor said the external aging of the skin could be slowed down by following several basic rules.
"First, applying sunblock 24/7 is very important. People should wear sunscreen with SPF 50 generously and elaborately on skin. If not applied liberally, the effect falls to SPF 5, not 50," she said. "Moisturizing is also crucial to maintaining the skin barrier function. If not moisturized enough, the skin barrier weakens and it results in infection and skin aging."