Recognize skin cancer

[DeepGreenEyes]

Check this out. And do it.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/heal...-cancer-if-you-saw-it-2537445/#photoViewer=14

 

[Christopher2012]

Okay random.

But anyway, here are the ABC's of melanoma.

A - Asymmetry
B - Border irregularity
C - Color Variation
D - Diameter > 6 mm
E - Evolution/Enlargement

I didn't read the article. So if Yahoo! gives you these ABC's, then sorry.

 

[DeepGreenEyes]

I don't think it's presented in a concise way, like that. Thanks.

 

[sereneone4u]

My father has had skin cancer several times...all in his face, neck and shoulder...not fun at all and his was just from fishing and being out in the sun a normal amount of time.

One of the reasons I do not tan and keep suntan lotion on myself constantly...

although as a teen we would put actual cooking oil on ourselves and lay out in our bikinis...hoping that does not back fire on me....

 

[SweetErika]

although as a teen we would put actual cooking oil on ourselves and lay out in our bikinis...hoping that does not back fire on me....

That's what my mom used to do, too. Hopefully you're getting checked by a good dermatologist regularly because my mom has been battling localized cancer spots on her arms, chest, shoulders and face for probably 15 years (she's 61 now). And she's not as fair as I am--or probably you are--either.

I went to a dermatologist in December for a check because even with sunscreen, I had some pretty bad sunburns as a child and have a good number of "beauty marks" all over (some of which seemed to grow during my pregnancy). He said I really didn't need to get checked for another 10 years (at 40), but did a thorough exam anyway. The spots I felt were suspicious turned out to be nothing, but he did biopsy one mark on my back that I hadn't seen, and it turned out to be just shy of cancer. So, a fairly large chunk of tissue near my shoulderblade had to be cut out and I'm damn glad I didn't wait years longer to get checked.

I've been really careful about sun exposure and protection for the past 10 years, and I'm almost obsessive about it with our little boy because he got my very fair skin.

 

[jp7]

That's what my mom used to do, too. Hopefully you're getting checked by a good dermatologist regularly because my mom has been battling localized cancer spots on her arms, chest, shoulders and face for probably 15 years (she's 61 now). And she's not as fair as I am--or probably you are--either.

I went to a dermatologist in December for a check because even with sunscreen, I had some pretty bad sunburns as a child and have a good number of "beauty marks" all over (some of which seemed to grow during my pregnancy). He said I really didn't need to get checked for another 10 years (at 40), but did a thorough exam anyway. The spots I felt were suspicious turned out to be nothing, but he did biopsy one mark on my back that I hadn't seen, and it turned out to be just shy of cancer. So, a fairly large chunk of tissue near my shoulderblade had to be cut out and I'm damn glad I didn't wait years longer to get checked.

I've been really careful about sun exposure and protection for the past 10 years, and I'm almost obsessive about it with our little boy because he got my very fair skin.

Very good move. I've struggled with keeping it in check since the age of 15, and it's definitely worth going and getting a regular check up. Everybody's different about how regularly they'll need to take a visit though (your ten years to my 6 months), so it's worth showing up once and finding out when you'll need to go back.

 

[Eilan]

My father has had skin cancer several times...all in his face, neck and shoulder...not fun at all and his was just from fishing and being out in the sun a normal amount of time.

My dad has, too. He recently had a spot on his ear biopsied, and if it would have been melanoma, he would have ended up having to get a large chunk of the ear removed.

Tanning beds are still enormously popular where I live. Parents even let their underage daughters tan for proms and pageants, but I think there's currently a push in OH to make it illegal for minors to use tanning beds. I just don't get the appeal of the leathery rode-hard-put-away-wet look.

I'm somewhat fair-skinned, but I don't burn all that easily. My girls are very fair, and we're all super-religious about using sunscreen. My husband's better about applying sunscreen than he used to be--at the very least, he remembers to wear a hat to cover his bald head!

 

[SweetErika]

Very good move. I've struggled with keeping it in check since the age of 15, and it's definitely worth going and getting a regular check up. Everybody's different about how regularly they'll need to take a visit though (your ten years to my 6 months), so it's worth showing up once and finding out when you'll need to go back.

Nope, now that I've had cancerous changes, I need to be checked every 6 months. I'll probably do it yearly for now unless I notice something odd, but I'm certainly not waiting until that apparent dermatological benchmark of 40 to get examined.

I'm expecting my 61-year-old dad to drop dead at any time after a lifetime of heavy sun exposure and no skin cancer checks thus far. What an idiot.

 

[SweetErika]

Tanning beds are still enormously popular where I live. Parents even let their underage daughters tan for proms and pageants, but I think there's currently a push in OH to make it illegal for minors to use tanning beds. I just don't get the appeal of the leathery rode-hard-put-away-wet look.

I'm somewhat fair-skinned, but I don't burn all that easily. My girls are very fair, and we're all super-religious about using sunscreen. My husband's better about applying sunscreen than he used to be--at the very least, he remembers to wear a hat to cover his bald head!

Yeah, that's fucked up. I see those people who tan religiously and just think they look ridiculous. I will sometimes tan just a little bit before a sun-filled vacation because I've found it drastically reduces my chances of burning (yeah, even if I'm taking a lot of precautions), but that's very limited exposure. I can definitely see how many get addicted to tanning, especially here. It does appear to make us happier during the many sunless months, and actually clears up my husband's psoriasis like nothing else.

We tell the munchkin his sun hat is a "party hat" from Go Dog, Go! so he'll want to wear it more. People look at me like I'm nuts when they hear me talking about his party hat, but whatever works, right?

 

[swtrthnhoney]

I had a small spot on my shin that looked nothing like any cancer pic I could find. So I tried to keep an eye on it. The problem was, I saw it everyday and didn't really notice it becoming bigger.

Finally - 6 years or so later - I asked my doctor about it. She said put a bandaid with neosporin on it for 3 days. If it does anythign but heal go see a dermatologist. I did, it was cancer. He said go see this surgeon.

It was. I am grateful that is was a slow growing kind and didn't grown more deeply. I had Mohs skin cancer surgery where they slice it and check it, slice some more and check it, until it's gone.

My cancer was pinkish and started ou as a pink dot with no real irregularities. Started out looking like a pink little dot. When it did become slowly bigger, I really didn't notice it. I should have measured it somehow and kept track that way. The only thing I noticed about it was every now and then it would itch and if I scratched it, it hurt.

I am sharing this because I did not know it was cancerous. It did not look like any pic on the skin cancer web sites. My previous doctor didn't even tell me to see a dermatologist. He merely said "if it bothers you see a dermatologist".

Better safe than sorry. Please have it checked if you are unsure.

 

[swtrthnhoney]

I had a small spot on my shin that looked nothing like any cancer pic I could find. So I tried to keep an eye on it. The problem was, I saw it everyday and didn't really notice it becoming bigger.

Finally - 6 years or so later - I asked my doctor about it. She said put a bandaid with neosporin on it for 3 days. If it does anything but heal go see a dermatologist. I did, it was cancer. He said go see this surgeon.

I am grateful that is was a slow growing kind and didn't grow more deeply. I had Mohs skin cancer surgery where they slice it and check it, slice some more and check it, until it's gone.

My cancer was pinkish and started out as a pink dot with no real irregularities. When it did become slowly bigger, I really didn't notice it. I should have measured it somehow and kept track that way. The only thing I noticed about it was every now and then it would itch and if I scratched it, it hurt.

I am sharing this because I did not know it was cancerous. It did not look like any pic on the skin cancer web sites. My previous doctor didn't even tell me to see a dermatologist. He merely said "if it bothers you see a dermatologist". This went on annually for years.

Better safe than sorry. Please have it checked if you are unsure.

 

[albertaboy]

Yeah, that's fucked up. I see those people who tan religiously and just think they look ridiculous. I will sometimes tan just a little bit before a sun-filled vacation because I've found it drastically reduces my chances of burning (yeah, even if I'm taking a lot of precautions), but that's very limited exposure. I can definitely see how many get addicted to tanning, especially here. It does appear to make us happier during the many sunless months, and actually clears up my husband's psoriasis like nothing else.

We tell the munchkin his sun hat is a "party hat" from Go Dog, Go! so he'll want to wear it more. People look at me like I'm nuts when they hear me talking about his party hat, but whatever works, right?

I tan in the winter prior to going south for the same reasons as you. I live about 1000km north of the Seattle area and we get very little sunshine in the winter and the days are very short. When I lived another 500 km north of here we tanned even more, just to feel good in the winter.

I see a dermitologist for psiriosis and he looks at me regularly, tanning beds are actually a recognized treatment for psiriosis.

 

[SweetErika]

I see a dermitologist for psiriosis and he looks at me regularly, tanning beds are actually a recognized treatment for psiriosis.

Dermatologists here don't condone tanning beds for psoriasis treatment because the "dosage" can't really be regulated. That's what they say, at least; I'm sure losing money from office visits and treatments plays a big factor in it as well. They do, however, prescribe light treatment in their offices and/or at home.

But because our health care system is so fucked up, my husband would end up paying like $40 per treatment in a dermatologist's office several times a week. Or, he could pay 30% of an in-home device that costs way too much (after his $1500 annual deductible is satisfied, of course), and basically spend all of his time at home treating the lesions (at one point, they probably covered about 35% of his skin). Thus, we opted to go the tanning route for $30/month, and after a month or two of going a few times a week, his skin did clear up enough to allow him to manage the lesions with topical medications.

However, about 2 years ago, he got a case of pustular psoriasis (which can be fatal), so he had to go on immunosuppressant medications. After an initial round of cyclosporin, his doc put him on a low dose of methotrexate, and his skin is pretty good, even though he's been off it for about 5 months now. Now he just treats the areas that bug him with an outrageously expensive spray and cream.

 

[Cinner]

I'm dark-skinned so I think that I'll have enough protection, but having seen the pictures I think I'll get an opinion from a dermatologist and then be more careful in the future!

 

[Bramblethorn]

Okay random.

But anyway, here are the ABC's of melanoma.

A - Asymmetry
B - Border irregularity
C - Color Variation
D - Diameter > 6 mm
E - Evolution/Enlargement

I didn't read the article. So if Yahoo! gives you these ABC's, then sorry.

I know this is an old post, but I think that "6 cm" should be "6mm" there. 6cm is huge.

 

[flyingtinopener]

Check this out. And do it.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/would-you-know-skin-cancer-if-you-saw-it-2537445/#photoViewer=

 

[flyingtinopener]

If you have any worries or doubts, get to your doctor ASAP, he will act on this very quickly , I have had it three or four times, and due to quick intervention all is well. Amateur advice is I,m sure well intended, but get pro advice quickly.

 

[Shaglus_Ziegler]

Check this out. And do it.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/heal...-cancer-if-you-saw-it-2537445/#photoViewer=14

35% hydrogen peroxide kills skin cancer dead. Another buried cheap cure.

 

[Mynameis___andIliketo____]

35% hydrogen peroxide kills skin cancer dead. Another buried cheap cure.

not true. I work in a mohs clinic. Depending on the type/severity treatment ranges from topical chemo cream to radiation to mohs surgery

 

[EmmAgain]

Even as a teenager in Texas I knew to slather on the sunscreen and rely on spray-tan. My older in-laws in Australia are covered in little craters where they’ve had stuff cut out.

And you know what? They’re still baking out in the sun every day making new melanomas.