Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer. Often the first sign of melanoma is a change in the size, shape, color or feel of a mole. Most melanomas have a black or black-blue area. Melanoma may also appear as a new mole. It may be black, abnormal or "ugly looking." Thinking of "ABCD" can help you remember what to watch for: Asymmetry - the shape of one half does not match the other Border - the edges are ragged, blurred or irregular Color - the color is uneven and may include shades of black, brown and tan Diameter - there is a change in size, usually an increase Melanoma can be cured if it is diagnosed and treated early. If melanoma is not removed in its early stages, cancer cells may grow downward from the skin surface and invade healthy tissue. If it spreads to other parts of the body it can be difficult to control.

1. Fitango Education
Health Topics
Melanoma
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2. Overview
Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer.
Often the first sign of melanoma is a change in the
size, shape, color or feel of a mole. Most
melanomas have a black or black-blue area.
Melanoma may also appear as a new mole. It may
be black, abnormal or "ugly looking."
Thinking of "ABCD" can help you remember what
to watch for:
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3. Overview
**Asymmetry**
- the shape of one half does not match the other
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4. Overview
**Border**
- the edges are ragged, blurred or irregular
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5. Overview
**Color**
- the color is uneven and may include shades of
black, brown and tan
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6. Overview
**Diameter**
- there is a change in size, usually an increase
Melanoma can be cured if it is diagnosed and
treated early. If melanoma is not removed in its
early stages, cancer cells may grow downward
from the skin surface and invade healthy tissue. If
it spreads to other parts of the body it can be
difficult to control.
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7. Symptoms
Often, the first sign of melanoma is a change in the
size, shape, color, or feel of an existing mole. Most
melanomas have a black or blue-black area.
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8. Symptoms
Most people have moles. Moles are groups of
melanocytes that form an abnormal growth.
However, they are not cancerous. When surgically
removed, they normally do not return. They do not
spread through the lymph nodes to internal parts
of the body.
How can you distinguish between a benign mole
and a cancerous mole?
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9. Symptoms
The following sections discuss 4 A-B-C-D tips:
asymmetry, border, color, and diameter.
**Asymmetry**
A melanoma is usually asymmetric, which means it
is not usually perfectly round. A non-cancerous
mole usually does have symmetry. In melanomas
the two halves of the lesion do not usually look
similar.
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10. Symptoms
**Border**
Melanomas have edges that are
ragged, notched, blurred, or irregular in outline.
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11. Symptoms
**Color**
The color of melanomas is uneven. Shades of
black, brown, and tan may be present. Areas of
white, gray, red, pink, or blue may also be seen.
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12. Symptoms
**Diameter**
Melanomas are usually larger than the eraser of a
pencil (5 mm or 1/4 inch); non-cancerous moles
are smaller.
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13. Symptoms
**Diameter**
Melanoma can be cured if diagnosed and treated
when the tumor is thin and has not deeply invaded
the skin. However, if a melanoma is not removed in
an early stage, cancer cells may grow down into
the skin, invading healthy tissue.
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14. Diagnosis
If the doctor suspects that a spot on the skin is
melanoma, the patient will need to have a biopsy.
A biopsy is the only way to make a definite
diagnosis. In a biopsy, the doctor tries to remove
all suspicious-looking growth.
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15. Diagnosis
If there is too much growth to remove entirely, the
doctor removes a sample of the tissue. A biopsy
can usually be done in the doctor's office using a
local anesthetic.
A pathologist then examines the tissue under a
microscope to check for cancer cells.
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16. Diagnosis
If melanoma is found, the doctor will determine
what stage the cancer is in before planning
treatment.
Removal of nearby lymph nodes for examination
under a microscope is sometimes necessary.
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17. Diagnosis
The doctor also does a careful physical exam and,
depending on the thickness of the tumor, may
order chest X-rays; blood tests; and scans of the
liver, bones, and brain.
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18. Treatment
A treatment plan for melanoma depends on:
-- The location and thickness of the tumor
-- How deeply the melanoma has invaded the skin
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19. Treatment
-- Whether melanoma cells have spread to nearby
lymph nodes or other parts of the body
-- The patient's age and general health
The standard treatment for melanoma is surgery;
in some cases, the doctor may also use
chemotherapy, biological therapy, or radiation
therapy. The doctor may decide to use one
treatment method or a combination of methods.
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20. Treatment
Surgery to remove a melanoma is the standard
treatment. It is necessary to remove not only the
tumor but also some normal tissue around it in
order to minimize the chance that any cancer gets
left behind.
If a large area of tissue is removed, a skin graft may
be done. For this procedure, the doctor uses skin
from another part of the body to replace the skin
that was removed.
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21. Treatment
Lymph nodes near the tumor may be removed
during surgery because cancer can spread through
the lymphatic system. If the pathologist finds
cancer cells in the lymph nodes, it may mean that
the disease has spread to other parts of the body.
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22. Treatment
Surgery is generally not effective in controlling
melanoma that has spread to other parts of the
body. In such cases, doctors may use other
methods of treatment, such as chemotherapy,
biological therapy, radiation therapy, or a
combination of these methods.
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23. Treatment
The side effects of cancer treatment mainly
depend on the type and extent of treatment. Side
effects may not be the same for everyone, and
they may change from one treatment to the next.
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24. Risks
You are more likely to have melanoma if any of the
melanoma risk factors apply to you.
The following are risk factors for melanoma:
1. Having 2 or more close relatives who have had
melanoma
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25. Risks
2. Having abnormal moles
3. Having had melanoma before
4. Having more than 50 moles
5. Having had one or more severe sunburns as a
child or teenager
6. Having fair skin that burns easily in the sun
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26. Risks
If you have one or more melanoma risk factors,
you should check your skin regularly and have
regular skin exams by a doctor or nurse specialist.
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27. Prevention
To help prevent and reduce the risk of melanoma
caused by UV radiation, people should avoid
exposure to the midday sun. Wearing a hat and
long sleeves offers protection.
Lotion, cream, or gel that contains sunscreen can
help protect the skin. Those with an SPF (sun
protection factor) of 30 or higher provide high
protection against sunburn.
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28. Prevention
Sunglasses that have UV-absorbing lenses should
also be worn. The label should specify that the
lenses block at least 99% of UVA and UVB
radiation.
Melanoma can be cured if detected early. Early
detection involves regularly checking your body for
skin growths that have changes in
symmetry, color, texture, and size.
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