Melanoma Skin Cancer

Melanoma skin cancer is the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Melanoma comprises the smallest number of total skin cancer cases but it accounts for the most deaths of all these type of cancers. It gets its name from the pigment that enables a person's skin to have color-melanin. In melanoma skin cancer the cells that manufacture melanin are targeted. Melanoma skin cancer can be treated with good results if it is detected in its initial stages.

Melanoma Causes

• Normal skin cells will mature and push upward toward the surface of the skin where older dying and dead cells will fall off. This entire process is controlled by the DNA within a person's cells but when something happens to the DNA the process can go out of control. This occurs in melanoma skin cancer, as skin cells begin to grow haphazardly. The exact reason for this is not yet clear but there does seem to be a strong connection to ultraviolet radiation. This type of radiation comes from the sun and from tanning beds and lights. This radiation causes changes in the DNA of skin cells that can result in cancer but melanoma skin cancer can strike in other parts of the body that are never exposed to light, meaning this radiation is just one piece of the mystery as to what causes this disease.

Symptoms

• Melanoma skin cancer can occur anywhere on the human body. However it is most frequently seen where the body is commonly exposed to the effects of the sun's rays. This includes the back, legs, arms, and the person's face. It has been known to appear on the bottoms of the feet, palms of the hands, and in the beds of fingernails as well. The initial signs of melanoma are when an odd looking growth crops up on the skin or a mole that was already present begins to change. Moles are usually one color with a very distinctive border and smallish in nature. But when melanoma skin cancer is present moles can change. When existing moles thicken and become elevated or begin to scale, erode, or crust over they may be turning cancerous. Other symptoms of this can include a redness and itchiness to the area near the mole and a burning or tingling feeling in the region. Later melanoma symptoms will include a potential bleeding from the mole and pain in the area of the mole.

What to look for

• The American Academy of Dermatology has come up with a guide using the letters A, B, C, D and E as a tool to know what to be watchful for in regards to moles that may mean the start of melanoma skin cancer. A stands for asymmetrical and means that moles with very odd shapes should be watched carefully. B is for the border of the mole. If the border seems irregular or uneven with a notched or scalloped shape then it could be melanoma. C means be wary of a change in color. Growths that are multi-colored or have uneven distribution of color are typically cancerous. D is for the diameter of the mole, with a mole larger than a quarter of an inch across raising concerns. E stands for evolving, as in the mole changes its shape, size, color, or any combination of these features.

Melanoma Staging

• Once a doctor has diagnosed melanoma skin cancer-usually through a biopsy of a suspicious mole- then the cancer is staged. This means that it is given a designation as to how serious the condition is. Stage 0 melanoma is limited only to the skin and has not yet begun to spread to other parts of the body. Stage I means that the cancer is in only a small area and can be dealt with successfully while the other extreme, Stage IV, has seen the cancer spread extensively to organs such as the lungs and liver, with little chance for it to be removed with surgical intervention.

Treatment of melanoma

• Surgically removing an early stage melanoma is the most often employed option. In most examples taking out the cancerous skin and a bit of the surrounding area eliminates the threat. Those melanomas that have spread beyond the skin require other treatments. The original area will be surgically removed, which can give the patient some relief from cancer symptoms but this removal does depend on where the melanoma is located. Chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells and radiation to do the same are also commonly used to treat melanoma skin cancer, but both come with side effects that range from fatigue and nausea to hair loss and loss of weight. Sometimes the person's immune system can receive a "boost" from certain drugs so that it can battle the cancer internally.