Early detection is very important and also very simple. It involves routine self-examinations every few months. If you discover any suspicious moles or warts, report them to your dermatologist immediately. Remember that if caught early enough, malignant melanoma is 99% curable. Check for the "ABCD" characteristics:
"A" - Asymmetry: if the shape of one half is unlike the shape of the other half;
"B" - Border irregularity: if it has an uneven, choppy border;
"C" - Color variation: if the color is uneven or non-uniform, i.e.: tan to brown to black;
"D" - Diameter: if the site is larger than ¼ inch across or if it's larger than a pencil eraser. In addition to the "ABCD" characteristics, melanoma may also metastasize, or spread over time. The site may become irritated as well, to include itching, burning, or bleeding.
Removal of skin cancer requires different treatments depending on the characteristics. The most common treatment is surgery. Presently, there are three types of surgery commonly practiced for the removal of skin cancers: Mohs surgery, curettage, and complete excision. Complete excision is the method of choice, involving removal of cancerous tissue along with a margin of surrounding healthy tissue. This ensures that all of the cancerous tissues are removed. Mohs surgery is normally performed on recurring basal and squamous cell cancers that have gone deeper than the surface cells. It involves removing the cancerous tissues layer by layer and is microscopically checked, until detection of abnormal cells is completely absent. A more common treatment for basal cell tumors is curettage surgery, where an electric needle is used to destroy the cancerous cells and minimizes bleeding.
How can we protect ourselves? First, we need to understand the ultraviolet (UV) index. The UV index measures the sun's damaging intensity against the time it takes for unprotected skin to burn. If the sun's intensity is reported at 0-2, it's at a minimum UV level, giving unprotected skin approximately one hour of exposure time before burning. A low UV of 3-4 will yield 30-60 minutes of exposure time. Moderate UV (5-6) gives 20-30 minutes, high UV (7-9) allows 10-20 minutes, and a very high UV (10-15) yields less than 10 minutes before burning unprotected skin.
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