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That spot could be melanoma

Posted on Apr 25th 2008 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson

Filed Under: Healthy Habits, Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment

If you've got a skin lesion larger than six millimeters in diameter, it could be melanoma, says a new study finding that supports the widespread use of diameter guidelines to screen for this deadly cancer.

The "ABCDE" screening method looks at five characteristics of melanoma: asymmetry, border irregularity, color variegation, diameter larger than six millimeters, and changes in a lesion. Some experts caution that looking for only the six-diameter skin spots will cause doctors to miss smaller melanomas. But the researchers involved in this study do not recommend a downward revision of the D criteria at this time.

I say pay attention to each and every one of your skin lesions. Consider the ABCDE components yourself and seek medical attention for anything that seems out of the ordinary, regardless of size, just to be safe. Be sure to see a dermatologist every year for a skin cancer screening. And be safe when you're in the sun by avoiding the rays between 10 am and 4 pm, wearing sun-protective clothing when exposed to sunlight, using sunscreen with a sun protective factor (SPF) of 15 or higher, and avoiding artificial sources of ultraviolet light.

Check out this National Council on Skin Cancer site for more on preserving your skin.

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Tags: 6, ABCDE, cancer, Jacki Donaldson, JackiDonaldson, lesion, melanoma, millimeters, screening, skin

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

BLC 4-26-2008 @ 6:29AM

The most important thing is to find potential melanoma lesions early while removal can be a cure. People at high risk (especially if you have already had a melanoma) need to follow their skin closely. The traditional ABCD criteria can help guide risk assessment. A, for asymmetric lesions; B for moles with irregular Borders; C, for colors in the lesion; and D, for diameter greater than the tip of an eraser.

More recently physicians have recognized the importance of moles that are new or getting larger in predicting high risk lesions. They have now added E for enlargement to the criteria and many recommend following the ABCDE’s. Having reliable information on whether a mole is changing increases the specificity of the skin exam and could therefore reduce the over-diagnosis of suspicious lesions.

Although dermatologists almost always ask if you have any new or changing moles most people cannot accurately answer that question (particularly those with numerous moles and the greatest risk). One way to approach this problem for people at high risk is to use Total Body Photography to document the moles on your body. However, this is an expensive procedure (often costing $400-$600) that most insurance providers will not cover.

There is now an inexpensive software program that allows people to use their own digital cameras at home to take their own body images at different time intervals (maximizing privacy). The images can be scaled and aligned and compared using a personal computer to allow for the efficient recognition of new or growing moles. This software was developed from funding provided by the National Cancer Institute and can be obtained by going to the website http://www.dermalert.com .