Summer and the risk of melanoma

There are three main types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. Melanoma is less common, but it is more likely to spread to other parts of the body than the other two types. Melanoma is more common in adults, but it has also been reported in children and adolescents.

Signs of melanoma detection

Melanoma is curable if caught early, so knowing how to detect it early is important. There are four types of the disease:

Malignant mole: The disease starts with a dark patch that gradually spreads and darkens over several years. It is often found on the cheeks of women over 40-50 years old. However, the disease can still occur at any age, both sexes. Because the lesion progresses slowly and the color darkens slowly, it rarely attracts attention, until it turns into invasive cancer, the patient will know. If the mole suddenly increases in size, hardness, skin darkness and especially bleeding, it is a sign of deterioration. The process of turning from a mole to cancer is from 1-30 years and when it metastasizes, it is very difficult to treat.

Unusual moles are a sign of skin cancer.

Extensive superficial melanoma: This type of cancer has many colors: black, red, brown, green, white. The surrounding lesions are often concave and jagged; the surface of the tumor is rough and uneven, especially on lesions that have appeared for a long time. Compared to malignant moles, this type of disease progresses much faster. Dangerous symptoms are easy bleeding, skin erosion, and ulceration. The tumor will grow horizontally, spreading to the sides, and it will take several years to penetrate the dermis and it can turn into a nodular melanoma.

Nevillous melanoma of the limbs: Appears in areas such as the palms, soles, and joints of the fingers and toes. This type of disease is intermediate between malignant moles and superficial diffuse melanoma, a rare disease that does not spread over a long period of time. The characteristic is that the tumor has an irregular shape, spreads quickly, and is often found in the palms, soles, nail beds, heels, fingertips, and nail edges. If the tumor changes color to light brown or dark brown, a cancer test should be done immediately. The final stage of this type of tumor often turns into a lump or ulcer.

Nodular melanoma: A hyperpigmented nodule, varying in size, that persists for months or years, protruding above a malignant mole or an extensive melanoma or an acral melanoma. It changes in size, increases in color, bleeds, oozes clear fluid, forms a tumor, ulcerates, or creates pigmented macules nearby (called ink spots). Initially, the tumor is 1-4 millimeters in diameter, they will gradually grow larger, are not uniform in color, have brown, blue-black or black spots, and have a pockmarked surface. When this pigmentation change lasts for several months, the tumor increases in size and begins to bleed.

Treatment

There are many methods for treating skin cancer, but currently surgery still plays a major role. To close the damaged skin after tumor removal surgery, people often combine with plastic methods such as skin flaps, separate skin grafts, and muscle flap rotation. Surgery: tumors less than 3cm in size are removed to a 4mm margin combined with skin flap surgery. For tumors larger than 3cm, the margin is removed to a 4mm margin. If there are lymph nodes, lymph node dissection or combined with radiation to the lymph node area is performed.

Moles show signs of cancer.

How to prevent disease

Skin cancer can be prevented with the following measures: Use broad-spectrum sunscreens with an SPF of 30 or higher and reapply every 3 hours of sun exposure. When using spray sunscreen, keep the nozzle 1cm away from the skin to ensure even spraying and full coverage. Limit or avoid going out in the sun at its peak, between 11am and 2pm. When going out, wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. Do not tan (artificially or naturally). Because when the skin is tanned, UV rays have damaged the DNA, thereby sending signals to the skin to produce and transport melanin to the surface to protect the skin from continued damage caused by UV rays. The signals that make the skin tan are changes at the molecular level that can cause skin cancer.