MELANOMA

44,000 Americans develop melanoma each year and 7.300 die from it. It is important to note that the death rate is in decline because patients are seeking treatment earlier.

Melanoma is caused by the over-production of melanin, the protective pigment that makes the skin tan which accounts for the cancers appearing in mixed shades of tan, brown, black, and even red or white.

Melanoma may suddenly appear without warning, but can also begin in or near a mole or another dark spot in the skin. It forms changes in moles, scaliness, oozing, bleeding, bumps, spread of pigment from the border into the surrounding skin, or change in sensation including itchiness, tenderness, and pain. It is important to know the location and appearance of moles on our bodies so any change will be noticed.

Excessive sun exposure and sunburn can cause melanoma as well as heredity predominant in light-skinned people. Although dark-skinned people are less likely to have melanoma, they develop them on the palms of the hands, soles of their feet, under nails, or in the mouth.

Like Basal and Squamous cell carcinoma cancers, melanoma is almost always curable when detected early.