Melanoma A Type of Skin Cancer
By Alan S. Peterson, M.D.
What Is Melanoma?
The body is made of many types of cells. Normally, cells grow, divide, and die. Sometimes cells begin to grow and divide more quickly than normal cells. Rather than dying, these cells clump together to form tumors. If these tumors are cancerous, they can kill your body’s healthy tissues. From these tumors, cancer cells can spread and form new tumors in other parts of your body.
Melanoma is the worst type of skin cancer. Most other skin cancers don’t spread, but melanoma can spread through the whole body. If it is found early, it can be cured.
Who Gets Melanoma?
Anyone can get melanoma but some people are more likely to get it. If the answer is “yes” to any of the questions below, you may have a higher risk. Talk with your doctor about your risk factors then.
- Has anyone in your family had cancerous moles or melanoma?
- Do you have many moles larger than a pencil eraser on the tip of a pencil?
- Do you have more than 50 moles of any size?
- Did you ever get a bad sunburn that caused blisters when you were a child? Studies have shown that this can double your risk in a lifetime of developing a melanoma.
- Does your skin usually burn but not tan?
Where Do Melanomas Occur?
Melanomas can be anywhere on your body. For men, they are most often on the chest, stomach, or back. In women, they are most often on the lower legs. But they can be found in others areas such as in the back of the eye, on the feet, hands or arms.
What Does Melanoma Look Like?
Melanoma might look like a mole or bump on your skin. Melanomas often do not look bad at first. If you notice that a mole has changed, or if you have a new mole that doesn’t look like your other moles, visit your doctor right away. Any non-healing skin area should be shown to your doctor if it’s not healed within 3 weeks or so.
How Can I Keep From Getting Melanoma?
The most important way to prevent melanoma is to limit the amount of time that you spend in the sun. The following are some ways to do this:
- Avoid the sun between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM.
- When you are outside, try to stay in shaded areas as much as possible.
- Wear a wide-brimmed hat, long-sleeved shirt, and long pants when you are in the sun.
- Use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. Put the sunscreen on 30 minutes before you go outside. Put it on again every two to three hours while in the sun and any time after significant sweating and swimming.
- Do not use tanning beds or sun lamps. These can significantly increase your risk of skin cancers.
If you are worried about a spot on your skin, ask your doctor about it.
Sunburns in childhood are the most damaging. Children younger than 6 months should never be outside in direct sunshine. Children 6 months and older should wear sunscreen whenever they are outside.
Many researchers in melanoma and skin cancer feel that we are spending more time outside now because we are using sunscreens and we feel that this is going to take away the risk of the sun doing damage to ourselves and possibly causing cancer. In many cases, this is a false assumption and one should not be lulled into the thought that just because they have sunscreen on they are doing all they can to decrease their risks of skin cancer. Make sure your sunscreen protects from ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays.
Where Can I Get More Information?
Obviously, you can ask your family physician or primary care provider. The National Cancer Institute can be reached at 1-800-4-CANCER. The American Cancer Society can also be reached at 1-800-227-2345 or their website at
http://www.cancer.org/.
Dr. Peterson is a doctor of Family and Community Medicine at the Walter L. Aument Family Health Center, 317 S. Chestnut St., Quarryville.