Do you know how to spot possible signs of Melanoma?
Here are 5 tips from the American Cancer Society:
- Check for any spots that look different from all the other spots on your skin
- See your doctor for changes in the surface of a mole, such as scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or the appearance of a lump or bump
- Similarly, don’t ignore changes in sensation, such as itchiness, tenderness or pain
- Pay attention to sores that don’t heal, redness or new swelling beyond the border of a mole
- Employ the ABCDE rule to assess suspicious spots:
- Asymmetry: One half of a mole or birthmark does not match the other
- Border: The edges are irregular, ragged, notched or blurred
- Color: The color is not the same all over and may include different shades of brown, black or sometimes with patches of pink, red, white or blue
- Diameter: The spot is larger than 6mm across (about ¼ inch – the size of a pencil eraser), although melanomas can sometimes be smaller than this
- Evolving: The mole is changing in size, shape or color
We have a large population of recovered patients for our 40-year Retrospective Melanoma Study, but our hope is that early detection can decrease the number of Melanoma diagnosis.
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