Melanoma is the most severe type of skin cancer that tends to spread throughout the body.
It is diagnosed 16,000 times a year, and tragically takes the lives of 2,340 people a year.
The number of people being diagnosed with melanoma is increasing and it is the 5th most common cancer in the UK.
But it is also one of the most preventable cancers, with 86 per cent of cases in the UK avoidable.
The best way to protect yourself from melanoma is to protect yourself from the sun – wear SPF, a hat and sunglasses every day and stay out of the sun during the hottest hours. It is also advised to avoid tanning beds.
People who are fair-skinned, have blue or green eyes, blonde or red hair, and a large number of freckles or moles are more likely to get skin cancer.
Surgery is the main treatment for melanoma, especially if it is detected early. This will involve removing the affected tissue in the skin.
Radiotherapy, drugs and chemotherapy are also sometimes used to stop the cancer from growing. Treatment depends on the severity of the disease.
What are the symptoms?
The key thing to look out for is changes to an existing mole or a new mole on the skin.
Most experts recommend using the simple “ABCDE” rule to look for symptoms of melanoma skin cancer, which can appear anywhere on the body.
There are five letters/words to remember:
- Asymmetric – melanomas usually have two very different halves and are irregularly shaped
- Border – melanomas usually have an incised or jagged border
- Colors – Melanomas will usually be a mixture of two or more colors
- Diameter – Most melanomas are usually larger than 6 mm in diameter
- Enlargement or elevation – A mole that changes size over time is more likely to be melanoma
A mole that changes size, shape or color may be melanoma.
But other signs to look out for include moles that are:
- Swollen and painful
- Bleeding
- Itching
- Crispy
How deadly is it?
Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer.
An individual’s prognosis depends on the stage of the cancer when it is diagnosed.
Survival is better for women than for men.
“We don’t know exactly why that is. This may be because women are more likely to see a doctor about their melanoma at an earlier stage,” says Cancer Research UK.
The charity says that overall statistics show that in England more than 85 out of every 100 people (more than 85 per cent) will survive their melanoma for 10 years or more after being diagnosed.
- Around 100 per cent in England diagnosed with stage 1 melanoma – when the cancer cells are only in the top layer of the skin – will survive five or more years after diagnosis. That drops to 80 percent for stage 2.
- About 70 percent live another five years when they are diagnosed with stage 3, which is when the cancer has started to spread to nearby lymph nodes.
- In stage 4, when melanoma has spread elsewhere in the body, nearly 30 percent survive their cancer for 5 years or more.
Cancer Research says the stage 4 data does not account for age differences. Age can affect the outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
Age can affect the outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
What is melanoma?
Melanocytes are cells in the skin that give us our skin color because they produce a pigment, known as melanin.
When you sit in the sun, melanocytes produce more pigment (darken), which spreads to other skin cells to protect them from the sun’s rays.
But melanocytes are also where cancer starts.
Too much UV rays cause burns, which is a sign of damage to the skin’s DNA.
UV radiation causes changes in melanocytes, causing the genetic material to become defective and cause abnormal cell growth.
People who burn easily are at greater risk of skin cancer because their cells do not produce as much pigment to protect their skin.
People with albinism are at the greatest risk because their skin does not produce any pigment at all.
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Source: HIS Education