You've heard of virtual colonoscopies. Now comes a virtual biopsy for skin cancer. If it works, doctors say the scalpel method could become obsolete.
Little Payton Carver has her father's sense of humor and her mother's spunk. Her red hair comes from both sides. So does the risk of skin cancer.
Payton's mother Michelle was only 21 the first time she had melanoma. Michelle had husband Kevin get checked too.
"And I'm glad I did it because it pretty much probably saved my life so far," said Kevin.
Last fall, a mole turned out to be early stage melanoma.
"I get seen every three months - hopefully we can catch 'em in time," said dermatologist Dr. Kelly Nelson at Duke University.
Nelson doesn't just look over Kevin's skin. She looks through it with a scope called the confocal. It uses laser light to see blood vessels and cells - a virtual biopsy.
"The ability to look into the skin without interfering with it is truly cutting edge," said Nelson.
If the scope can measure up to the scalpel biopsy, it could mean fewer cuts in the future for patients like Kevin, who is cancer free today.
Unfortunately Michelle lost her battle with cancer.
"She was a fighter - probably the strongest most courageous woman I met in my life," said Kevin.
A life that still shines for Payton.
"I've got to be around for that little girl," said Kevin. "She's my life."
When detected early, melanoma is almost always curable. The study is taking place at Duke University.
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