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Medical Author:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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In this Article

• Disease prevention in women overview
• Osteoporosis
• Breast cancer
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Cancer of the cervix
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Hypercholesterolemia (hyperlipidemia, dyslipidemia)
• Type II diabetes mellitus
• Cancer of colon and rectum / polyps of colon and rectum
• Bladder cancer
• Glaucoma
• Melanoma and other skin cancers
• Find a local Internist in your town
• Disease Prevention in Women Index

Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer.

Total body skin examination

The American Cancer Society recommends a skin check every three years between the ages of 20 and 40, and a skin check annually over age 40.

Adults with higher than normal risk for melanoma should be particularly vigilant if they have:

• a family history of melanoma;
  
  
• are middle-aged adults with frequent sun exposure;
  
  
• a history of serious or frequent sunburn. Childhood sunburn is particularly risky;
  
  
• more than 50 moles; and
  
  
• fair skin.

See a doctor if the mole has the following characteristics:

• diameter more than 6mm;
  
  
• asymmetric, meaning an uneven shape;
  
  
• irregular border; and
  
  
• variable color pattern, meaning many colors or unusual colors, like blue or black.

Skin cancer is the most common cancer. Even though the benefit of skin cancer screening is uncertain (so far, research has not shown that death from skin cancer can be decreased after a regular screening program is instituted), early treatment of skin cancer can be effective. Melanomas may be detected at a thinner stage with regular skin exams. Thinner melanomas are more successfully treated than are thick ones that have grown downward into the deeper portions of the skin.

Previous contributing author and editor: Daniel L. Gornel, MD, MPH and Dennis Lee, MD

REFERENCES:

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. Braumwald E, Fauci AS, et al. 17th Edition. 2007. McGraw Hill.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; "HPV vaccination- recommendations."
<http://www.acog.org/departments/dept_notice.cfm?recno=7&bulletin=3945.>

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; "The Pap Test."
<http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp085.cfm.>

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF); "Screening for Breast cancer."
<http://www.ahrq.gov/CLINIC/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm.>