Melanoma Skin Cancer
Most of the moles that people have are not cancerous growths but one cannot ignore the fact that many of the moles are and they also happen to be the early symptoms of skin cancer.
If such a symptom happens to be a melanoma mole, there is no way for a patient to know about it unless s/he gets it checked by a skin doctor.
A patient must watch out for some features in the moles before visiting a dermatologist. These are also known as the ABCDE of skin cancer detection. They are asymmetry (A), border irregularity (B), Colour (C), Diameter (D) and Evolving (E).
Normally, a skin doctor or dermatologist would conduct a test of the mole for proper melanoma diagnosis if s/he suspects the mole to be cancerous and especially melanoma.
It is extremely important that melanoma is detected very early because even the slightly advanced Melanoma stages of cancer are very challenging to treat.
Around 70% of the fatalities resulting from skin cancer are due to melanoma. If not detected early, it can spread very fast to other organs of the body.
Melanoma Stages
There are 5 stages of melanoma on the basis of which doctors classify the stage of a patient’s melanoma cancer. The stages are 0, I, II, III and IV with the most serious stage being the highest number, i.e. Stage IV.
This is the broad classification of the stages of melanoma and there are further sub-stages like IA, IB, etc.
Generally, melanoma diagnosis indicates Stage I where the cancer is confined to the tumour. Stage II melanoma suggests that the tumour has grown and is very near to breaking through the skin’s inner layer.
When melanoma is at Stage III it has already began spreading beyond the original tumour. At Stage IV melanoma is said to have spread to the brain, lungs, and other critical organs of the body.
When melanoma reaches the brain, it is referred to as Brain Metastases wherein there could be a single or multiple tumours in the brain of the victim.
Types of Melanoma
Melanoma just accounts for about 4% of all skin cancers but there are several melanoma types and together they account for around 70% of all deaths caused by skin cancer.
Nodular melanoma is among the most dangerous types because it is very difficult to read the signs of this type of melanoma.
Ocular melanoma is another type that usually occurs in the face especially around the eye but its symptoms can be difficult to see in a mirror.
An advanced type of melanoma that has spread to several other organs of the body is known as metastatic melanoma.
Intraocular melanoma is a rare but dangerous variant of melanoma that starts in the tissues of the eye and it usually affects older people although exposure to the sun is another cause of this melanoma cancer.
The best treatments for all kinds of melanoma skin cancer are early stage detection and for that the patient must routinely visit a health professional for a thorough check up.