May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Did you know that skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States?
It sure is. So, it's important to know your risk factors, especially when it comes to melanoma — which is often considered the most serious skin cancer.
Melanoma causes the vast majority of skin cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.
To help raise awareness, I got some insight from an otolaryngologist — a head and neck surgeon — and a patient who has been battling melanoma for 25 years.
Melanie Carney was just 21 years old and a student at Western Michigan when she noticed a mole on her calf.
"I was cutting it every time I shaved my legs," she said.
A biopsy turned up no cancer, but when the wound hadn't healed after several months, Melanie's dermatologist cut deeper and discovered melanoma. It had spread to her lymph nodes.
"I had a full lymph node dissection from my left groin," Melanie told me.
She thought that surgery had ended the ordeal, but in 2014, the then 37-year-old felt an itchy bump on her scalp. It was a reoccurance, prompting an excision and a full body PET scan.
"I came back as having a tumor in my right thigh, my right butt muscle, my lymph nodes, my lungs, and my right calf," she said.
It was stage four melanoma.
" What went through your mind when you got that diagnosis?" I asked.
"Shock. I mean, a lot of shock," she responded.
She had another PET scan in 2016 to monitor her tumors. During that scan, she found out she was pregnant.
And when it was time for baby Hannah to come, an emergency C-section revealed a melanoma tumor on her ovaries.
"So, [Hanna] quote, unquote 'saved me' a little bit because if I hadn't had to have the C-section, I wouldn't have had a scan for three months. So, that tumor could have caused more spreading," she said.
"Why is melanoma so deadly?" I asked Dr. Vivian Wu, a Head and Neck Surgeon at Henry Ford Health System.
"You know, melanoma has a way of spreading to lymph nodes," she said.
Wu said she sees many cases of melanoma.
" How can people prevent getting melanoma?" I asked.
"Melanoma is most likely caused by excessive UV exposure, UV rays from the sun. But it's not just from the sun. We've got many patients who spent a lot of time on tanning beds," she said.
Being exposed to ultraviolet or UV rays is one of the risk factors of melanoma, according to the American Cancer Society . Other risk factors include:
- Having a family history
- Having a personal history of other skin cancers
- A weakened immune system
- Lighter skin, hair and eye color
- Being older
- Being male
- Having moles that are present at birth
- Having many moles or atypical moles.
So, remember the ABCDEs of melanoma detection, developed by dermotologists, fellows, and faculty at NYU.
- A is for Asymmetry - where half of the mole does not match the other
- B is for Border - where a mole's border is irregular, poorly defined, or scalloped
- C is for Color - which varies or comes in different shades
- D is for Diameter - moles that are wider than a pencil eraser
- E is for Evolving - moles that change over time
"The treatments are getting better, people are living longer, and you don't have to be scared," Carney said.
Thanks to Melanie Carney for sharing her story.
To help protect yourself from skin cancer, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion recommends:
- Check your skin for changes regularly and consult with your dermatologist
- Don't use indoor tanning machines
- Stay out of the sun as much as possible between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
- Use sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher
Cover up with long sleeves, long pants or a long skirt, sunglasses, and wide-brimmed hats.
Dr. Wu sees a fair amount of skin cancer cases on the ears and scalp, so those wide-brimmed hats make a difference, along with seeing your dermatologist regularly.
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