What is melanoma skin cancer?

An aggressive cancer: Melanoma skin cancer arises from the pigment cells in the skin. The larges risk factor is sun exposure. It is scary because even a small primary tumor sometimes metastasizes and becomes deadly. Read about the abcd's of melanoma detection at www.Melanomafoundation.Org.

Aggressive cancer: Melanoma develops from melanocytes cells of the lower layers in the skin. These cells produce pigments and the color of skin. When they form into cancer it can grow radially and deeply which can be dangerous as it can subsequently spread to other areas of the body. There are genetic predispositions as well as ultraviolet radiation exposure and sunburns are risk factors.

Multiple risks: The most important risk factor is exposure to uv sun radiation, especially as a child and young adult. Then, over time, we all naturally start accumulating genetic mutations. Some of these mutations will culminate in the development of melanoma skin cancer. Avoid unnecessary sun exposure, don't use tanning beds, and use sunscreen spf 50 or greater to reduce your risk.

Skin Cancer: Melanoma is a potentially dangerous type of skin cancer. It is diagnosed less frequently than other types of skin cancer (nonmelanoma skin cancer), but has the ability to spread very quickly. Melanoma most often begins on the skin but can develop on the other parts of the body, such as under fingernails, toenails and the eyeball.

Malignancy: In the epidermis, or top layer of skin, are squamous cells, basal cells, and melanocytes. Melanocytes are the cells that give skin color with UV exposure. Melanoma tumors will most often resemble a mole, but may have certain characteristics. Approximately 10,000 melanoma deaths occur annually. However, the prognosis with early treatment is typically very good. Learn more at http://dermdocs.com/

Melanoma: Things to do about melanoma: 1. Prevention: avoid sun exposure between 10am & 4pm. Use broad-spectrum sunscreen daily. 2. Detection: get to know your skin, do monthly skin self exam, including genital/perianal area. Show new or changing moles to dermatologist asap if melanoma is diagnosed early, chances of cure are high. No truly effective tx for late/metastatic melanoma. Early detection is key.

Melanoma : Someone diagnosed with malignant melanoma should consult and follow up on a regular basis with a dermatologist for skin screening and to make sure the melanoma has been completely surgically removed sometimes blood work and imaging studies such as x rays or ct scans are needed depending on the depth of the melanoma. At times regional lymph nodes are biopsied to ensure the melanoma has not spread.