Melanoma 101 - Introduction to a Deadly Skin Cancer

Medical Author: Alan Rockoff, MD
Medical Editor: Frederick Hecht, MD, F.A.A.P.

• Introduction
• What should I look for?
• What if the changes are rapid or dramatic?
• What puts me at risk for melanoma?
• How do I know my level of risk for melanoma?
• What are the kinds of melanoma?
• How is melanoma diagnosed?
• How do doctors determine the prognosis (outlook) of a melanoma?
• What is the treatment for melanoma?
• What methods are available to help prevent melanoma?
• Conclusions
• Melanoma At A Glance
• Additional Resources

Introduction

Melanoma is a cancer that develops in the pigment cells, called melanocytes. It can be more serious than the other forms of skin cancer because it may spread to other parts of the body (metastasize) and cause serious illness and death. About 50,000 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed in the United States every year.

Because most melanomas occur on the skin where they can be seen, patients themselves are often the first to detect many melanomas. Early detection and diagnosis are crucial. Caught early, most melanomas can be cured with relatively minor surgery.

This article is written from the standpoint of the patient. In other words, instead of describing the disease in exhaustive detail, I will try to help answer the questions: "How do I know if I have melanoma?" and "Should I should be checked for it?"

Spots on the skin

Guideline # 1: Nobody can diagnose him or herself. If you see a spot that looks as though it is new or changing, show it to a doctor. When it comes to spots on the skin, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Everybody gets spots on their skin. The older we are, the more spots we have. Some of these are freckles, others are moles, and still others are made up of collections of tissue, such as blood vessels or pigment cells. Most of these spots are benign. That means they are neither cancerous nor on the way to becoming cancerous.

Moles

Guideline # 2: The vast majority of moles stay as moles and do not turn into anything else.

Some people are born with moles (the medical name is "nevus," plural "nevi"). Almost everyone develops them, starting in childhood. On the average, people have about 25 moles, though some have fewer and others many more. Moles may be flat or raised, and they may range in color from tan to light brown to black.

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