Who benefits from calling a solar keratosis a squamous cell carcinoma?

Abstract

Conflicts of interest None declared. Why didst thou promise such a beauteous day, And make me travel forth without my cloak... 1 At the end of 2004 a tidal wave swept through the Asian Pacific Region. By mid‐January it became clear that around 300 000 people had died, and millions more were devastated by loss of home and environment. The after‐effects will be felt in this area for at least a generation. In mid‐January I visited the Regional Dermatology Training Centre of the International Foundation for Dermatology in Moshi, Tanzania as part of my responsibilities in the International League for Dermatological Societies. I used the opportunity to visit the ward where a small proportion of the dermatology patients is admitted for more intensive care. There was a young man who had been admitted with severe progressive pyoderma gangrenosum of both legs which was unresponsive to the limited systemic therapy available. He was unable to be sent home to his village in rural Africa because of the high risk of secondary infection, which was likely to be lethal under these conditions. Consequently, he agreed to amputation of both legs, which was performed. By a miracle, he recovered well and the wounds healed.