Check Your Skin
- Real Housewife Tamra Judge, 53, was diagnosed with melanoma after discovering a cancerous mole on her butt.
- Melanoma isn’t just limited to skin. Uveal melanoma is a disease that forms in the tissue of the eye and is not caused by UV rays.
- It’s important to check every part of your skin and look for suspicious moles and blemishes.
Real Housewife of Orange County (RHOC) alum, Tamra Judge, thought she was going to enjoy a relaxing massage, but ended up with devastating news. After being diagnosed with melanoma, Judge encourages all of us to check every part of our body for spots — even if it’s embarrassing.
While filming RHOC, Judge, 53, decided to take some time for herself and have a massage in her dressing room. During the session, her masseuse pointed out a black spot on the side of her butt, and told her she should visit a dermatologist to have it examined. A few moths later, Judge did exactly that. The dermatologist took a biopsy of the spot and a few weeks later informed Judge she had stage 1 melanoma — an aggressive form of skin cancer. The physician informed her that the disease was extremely treatable, and in the end Judge learned an important lesson about always paying attention to every part of her body.
Related: Should People With Tattoos Worry More About Skin Cancer Risk? A Leading Expert Breaks It Down For Us
“I probably would have never, ever even knew it was there because I am not turning around and looking back there,” Judge tells Us Weekly. “It didn’t hurt. There was nothing, it wasn’t raised. There was no reason for me to think there was something wrong.”
Judge first opened up about her melanoma battle in August 2017, and now she’s become an advocate for routine screening. It’s an important reminder that skin cancer can prevent itself in areas you may not be looking at everyday, and a thorough self-evaluation can be life-saving.
Actress and melanoma survivor Jill Kargman talks to SurvivorNet about pushing to be checked after doctors ignored her symptoms
Melanoma Isn’t Only About Skin
When we think of skin cancer, we immediately, and understandably, assume it’s only a disease that affects our skin. However, it turns out that’s not the case. Uveal melanoma is a disease that forms in the tissue of the eye, and unlike melanoma of the skin, it’s not caused by UV rays. In fact, researchers are still trying to find out what causes uveal melanoma.
Since a cause of this disease has yet to be determined, it’s even more important that everyone get their eyes regularly checked. “Everyone should get dilated every year,” Dr. Sapna Patel, a melanoma oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet. “Even if you don’t need corrective lenses or glasses, contact lenses … it’s still important to have your eyes dilated and examined for physical changes such as melanoma or moles in the eye.”
Related: Staggering Racial Disparities in Cancer — Black Melanoma Patients Wait Significantly Longer For Treatment Than Whites
There are factors that put certain groups of people at risk. According to Dr. Patel, Uveal melanoma is found in caucasians with hazel, green, or blue eyes more than people with brown eyes. However, no matter your eye color, it’s still important to be proactive and get yourself checked regularly.
Dr. Sapna Patel defines uveal melanoma, a skin cancer of the eye
Tips For Checking Your Skin
There’s a few things to remember when trying to prevent skin cancer. One, it’s still important to protect your skin during the winter months, and two, suspicious moles can present themselves in unassuming areas. By finding caner in the earlier stages, it’s usually very treatable through surgery. This means checking your body for spots and blemishes thoroughly can be the difference between an early stage version of the disease or a late stage.
Related: Skin Cancer From Sitting In Your Car? With Road Trips On the Rise, So Is Sun Exposure: Here’s What Experts Say
When checking your skin, use the ABCDE method:
- Asymmetrical moles: see if the sides of the mole match each other.
- Borders: examine if the edges of the mole are jagged or irregular.
- Colors: does the mole display different tones of color?
- Diameter: check if the mole is larger than 6mm (roughly the size of a pencil head eraser)
- Evolution: the most important part of the process. Pay attention to if the mole changes over time; in color, size, or starts to feel painful or itchy.
Dr. Cecilia Larocca shares tips on how to check your skin
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Check Your Skin
- Real Housewife Tamra Judge, 53, was diagnosed with melanoma after discovering a cancerous mole on her butt.
- Melanoma isn’t just limited to skin. Uveal melanoma is a disease that forms in the tissue of the eye and is not caused by UV rays.
- It’s important to check every part of your skin and look for suspicious moles and blemishes.
Real Housewife of Orange County (RHOC) alum,
Tamra Judge, thought she was going to enjoy a relaxing massage, but ended up with devastating news. After being diagnosed with melanoma, Judge encourages all of us to check
every part of our body for spots — even if it’s embarrassing.
While filming RHOC, Judge, 53, decided to take some time for herself and have a massage in her dressing room. During the session, her masseuse pointed out a black spot on the side of her butt, and told her she should visit a dermatologist to have it examined. A few moths later, Judge did exactly that. The dermatologist took a biopsy of the spot and a few weeks later informed Judge she had stage 1 melanoma — an aggressive form of skin cancer. The physician informed her that the disease was extremely treatable, and in the end Judge learned an important lesson about always paying attention to every part of her body.
Read More Related: Should People With Tattoos Worry More About Skin Cancer Risk? A Leading Expert Breaks It Down For Us“I probably would have never, ever even knew it was there because I am not turning around and looking back there,” Judge tells Us Weekly. “It didn’t hurt. There was nothing, it wasn’t raised. There was no reason for me to think there was something wrong.”
Judge first opened up about her melanoma battle in August 2017, and now she’s become an advocate for routine screening. It’s an important reminder that skin cancer can prevent itself in areas you may not be looking at everyday, and a thorough self-evaluation can be life-saving.
Actress and melanoma survivor Jill Kargman talks to SurvivorNet about pushing to be checked after doctors ignored her symptoms
Melanoma Isn’t Only About Skin
When we think of skin cancer, we immediately, and understandably, assume it’s only a disease that affects our skin. However, it turns out that’s not the case. Uveal melanoma is a disease that forms in the tissue of the eye, and unlike melanoma of the skin, it’s not caused by UV rays. In fact, researchers are still trying to find out what causes uveal melanoma.
Since a cause of this disease has yet to be determined, it’s even more important that everyone get their eyes regularly checked. “Everyone should get dilated every year,” Dr. Sapna Patel, a melanoma oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet. “Even if you don’t need corrective lenses or glasses, contact lenses … it’s still important to have your eyes dilated and examined for physical changes such as melanoma or moles in the eye.”
Related: Staggering Racial Disparities in Cancer — Black Melanoma Patients Wait Significantly Longer For Treatment Than Whites
There are factors that put certain groups of people at risk. According to Dr. Patel, Uveal melanoma is found in caucasians with hazel, green, or blue eyes more than people with brown eyes. However, no matter your eye color, it’s still important to be proactive and get yourself checked regularly.
Dr. Sapna Patel defines uveal melanoma, a skin cancer of the eye
Tips For Checking Your Skin
There’s a few things to remember when trying to prevent skin cancer. One, it’s still important to protect your skin during the winter months, and two, suspicious moles can present themselves in unassuming areas. By finding caner in the earlier stages, it’s usually very treatable through surgery. This means checking your body for spots and blemishes thoroughly can be the difference between an early stage version of the disease or a late stage.
Related: Skin Cancer From Sitting In Your Car? With Road Trips On the Rise, So Is Sun Exposure: Here’s What Experts Say
When checking your skin, use the ABCDE method:
- Asymmetrical moles: see if the sides of the mole match each other.
- Borders: examine if the edges of the mole are jagged or irregular.
- Colors: does the mole display different tones of color?
- Diameter: check if the mole is larger than 6mm (roughly the size of a pencil head eraser)
- Evolution: the most important part of the process. Pay attention to if the mole changes over time; in color, size, or starts to feel painful or itchy.
Dr. Cecilia Larocca shares tips on how to check your skin
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
