The dangerous skin cancer can take on odd forms and pop up in unexpected places
Published by: AARP
More than 97,000 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, according to the American Cancer Society, making it one of the most common types of cancer in the U.S., especially among older adults who have endured decades of sun exposure and whose immune systems aren’t as robust as they once were.
The good news: Melanoma is highly curable if it’s caught early. Do you know what to look for?
1. The ‘ugly duckling’
People who have lots of moles are at increased risk for melanoma. That doesn’t mean, however, that you need to panic over every mark on your body. Pay attention to the moles that stand out — those that are darker than the rest, have changed recently or are more oddly shaped. Buchbinder calls these “ugly ducklings.”
2. ‘Where the sun doesn’t shine’
The majority of melanomas are thought to be caused by ultraviolet (UV) light, but not all of them come from sun exposure. Melanoma can develop anywhere on the body, including “in places the sun doesn’t shine,” like the soles of the feet or the palms of the hand, says Elizabeth Quigley, M.D., a dermatologist and associate physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
The cancer can also appear as a dark streak under a fingernail or toenail, which is what happened to musician Bob Marley. He initially mistook his melanoma for a bruise on the toe and eventually died from it. (A clue that you should see a doctor: If you discover a dark spot under the nail bed that doesn’t grow out with the nail over time like a blood blister would, Buchbinder says it’s time to make an appointment.)
3. Red, white, and blue hues
Melanomas are often depicted as dark-brown moles, but they can actually be present in a variety of colors. The cancer may have a blue tint to it, from deeper pigmentation, says Professor Robert Brodell, M.D., chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Or it can appear red, the result of an immune response. “The body is attacking it. It knows it’s abnormal and it’s trying to defend itself, and you get inflammation,” Brodell explains.
It’s also possible for a melanoma to “look like a rash,” Quigley says, and to take on a pink hue. But when the spot doesn’t get better with creams and other treatments that normally nix a rash, “you need to check and make sure that that’s not a skin cancer,” she adds.
4. Spots on the skin that bleed or itch
If a mole on your body starts to itch or becomes more painful or tender, you need to get it checked out. The same goes if the surface of a mole changes — maybe it starts to ooze or bleed or take on a scalier appearance and doesn’t heal on its own.
“We think that some of that irritation — the itching, the bleeding — is actually the body starting to recognize [cancer] and starting to attack it a little, making it irritated. That’s why you’ll see some itching and bleeding and irritation near the actual mole,” Buchbinder says.