Melanoma

melanoma example

What is it?

Melanoma is a type of a skin cancer. When found early and treated, melanoma can be cured. If allowed to grow and left untreated, melanoma can spread to other parts of the body and as a result melanoma can be a deadly form of skin cancer. Your doctor may take a biopsy of a suspicious mole or growth to determine if it is melanoma.

Who gets it?

Anyone can get melanoma but research has shown indoor tanning increases a person’s melanoma risk by 75%. Some people have a higher risk of getting melanoma. These people have the following traits/risk factors:

Are fair skinned
Have sun-sensitive skin
Have red hair
Have over 50 moles, large moles or unusual-looking moles
Have a weakened immune system
Melanoma runs in the family
Have spent a lot of time in the sun

melanoma example

Treatment

The following treatments may be given to treat melanoma

Excision: doctor will numb the skin and surgically cut out the melanoma and some of the normal-looking skin around the melanoma.
Mohs surgery: surgeon will cut out the tumor and a very small amount of normal-looking skin surrounding the tumor. While the patient waits, the Mohs surgeon uses a microscope to look at what was removed to look for cancer cells. The surgeon will continue to remove a very small amount of skin until the surgeon no longer sees cancer cells under the microscope.

If the melanoma gets deeper into the skin or spreads, a patient may need more treatment. Other treatments include:

Lymphadenectomy: surgery to remove lymph nodes
Immunotherapy: treatment that helps the patient’s immune system fight cancer
Chemotherapy: Medicine that kills the cancer cells.
Radiation therapy: X-rays that kill the cancer cells.

Tips

If you use tanning beds, stop immediately!
If you spend time outdoors, do it when the sun is less intense (before 10am or after 4pm)
Wear sunscreen everyday that is SPF 30 or higher and with “broad spectrum” protection (blocks against UVA and UVB rays)
Wear sunglasses that have UV protection
Get skin cancer screening by your dermatologist
Check your skin for signs of cancer
Know the ABCDE’s of melanoma