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Early Detection of Melanoma: Know the Signs and Symptoms

Recognizing the early signs of melanoma — and getting yourself to a doctor as soon as possible if you see anything suspicious — is vital.

That’s because the earlier the diagnosis, the better the prognosis. For melanoma treated early, before it has time to spread, the five-year survival rate is over 99 percent.

Once the cancer has spread, treatment is more complicated and recovery is a lot less certain.

Dermatologists recommend examining your skin once a month, looking for any abnormal spots or growths that might signal melanoma or another type of skin cancer.

The ABCDEs of Melanoma

Dermatologists use an initialism, ABCDE, to describe the differences between a benign (harmless) mole and a malignant one.

  • A is for asymmetry. Most benign moles are symmetrical: If you draw a line through the middle, the halves match. Asymmetry, on the other hand, is a warning sign for melanoma.
  • B is for border. A benign mole has smooth, even borders; a malignant mole may have scalloped, notched, or otherwise irregular edges.
  • C is for color. Most benign moles are a single color, usually some shade of brown. Malignant moles might contain several different shades of brown, tan, or black, or they might be red, white, or blue.
  • D is for diameter. Melanomas are usually bigger in diameter than benign ones. They tend to be larger than the eraser on a pencil (about ¼ inch) but may be smaller if caught early.
  • E is for evolving. Benign moles usually stay the same. Melanomas can morph in size, color, shape, elevation, or other characteristics. (2)

Some melanomas don’t neatly fit into the ABCDE categories. See a doctor if you have any of the following warning signs:

  • A sore that does not heal.
  • Spread of pigment from the border of a spot into the skin around it.
  • Redness or a new swelling beyond the border of the spot.
  • Change in sensation, such as itchiness, tenderness, or pain.
  • Change in the mole’s surface: oozing, bleeding, scaliness, or the appearance of a bump or lump. (3)

Searching for Ugly Ducklings

If the ABCDE approach seems complicated, dermatologists have come up with a simpler way to identify a suspicious mole: Ask yourself whether it’s an “ugly duckling” that looks different from all the other moles around it.

It might be larger and darker, for instance, or it might be a small red mole surrounded by bigger brown moles. For a person who has few other moles, any change in a spot or growth makes it an ugly duckling.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona who evaluated this method found patients were able to use it more effectively than the ABCDE approach. (4)

Skin Self-Exams: A How-To Guide

Once you know what to look for, you need to start looking.

Together with yearly skin checks by a doctor, regular self-examination is critical for catching melanoma and other types of skin cancer early.

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, monthly self-exams should be sufficient for most people, but they recommend checking with your doctor to make sure you don’t need to look more frequently.

Once you’ve done a few self-exams, they get easier and faster. You should be able to complete it in 10 minutes. (5)

You’ll need a bright light, a full-length mirror, a hand mirror, two chairs or stools, a blow-dryer, and a pencil.

Identifying a changing mole is often critical to catching melanoma early — essentially, keeping tabs on the ABCDEs to monitor any changes in color, size, or shape over time. It can be hard to know where to start, so both the Skin Cancer Foundation and the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) offer detailed guidance on creating a “body map,” which establishes an initial snapshot of a person’s body marks that can be a powerful reference tool over the years.

To get started, you can download the AAD’s body map guide to record the location, size, and color of each mole, freckle, birthmark, and any other spot or growth.

Here’s how to do the exam:

  • Look closely at your face, paying extra attention to your nose, lips, mouth, and ears — front to back. Use the hand mirrors (one or both) if necessary.
  • Examine your scalp, using a mirror and a blow-dryer to move hair out of the way. Get a friend or family member to help if possible.
  • Scrutinize your hands: the palms and backs, between the fingers, and underneath the fingernails. Move up your wrists to your forearms, examining the skin front and back.
  • Facing the full-length mirror, examine your upper arms (including your underarms) starting at the elbows.
  • Check the neck, chest, and torso. Women should lift their breasts to see the undersides.
  • Facing directly away from the full-length mirror, use the hand mirror to examine the back of your neck, shoulders, upper back, and any part of the back of your upper arms you weren’t able to see before.
  • Using both mirrors, examine your lower back, buttocks, and backs of both legs.
  • Sit down and take turns propping each leg on the other chair or stool. Use the hand mirror to examine the genitals. Scan the front and sides of both legs, thigh to shin, as well as the ankles, tops of feet, between the toes, and under the toenails. Scrutinize the soles of the feet and heels. (6)

RELATED: What Are Some of the Signs and Symptoms of Cancer?

Why Having a Skin-Check Partner Is a Smart Move

Researchers are finding that when it comes to spotting melanoma, two sets of eyes are better than one.

In a study at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, researchers recruited patients who’d previously been treated for melanoma, and who were thus at increased risk for developing a second melanoma.

Each patient brought in a partner — a spouse, family member, or friend. Half the partners were trained to identify suspicious lesions.

The researchers discovered that the patient-and-trained-partner duos spotted more early-stage melanomas than pairs who were simply reminded to do regular self-exams. Being trained with a partner to do skin exams appeared to promote the more frequent performance of self-exams and helped people pick up melanomas accurately. (7)

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