Understanding Melanoma
- Dr. Jake Goodman is a psychiatry resident with Jackson Memorial Hospital. He’s amassed over a million followers on social media for sharing informational videos that center around the topic of mental health, but now he’s talking about cancer too after a shocking melanoma diagnosis earlier this month.
- Thankfully, Dr. Goodman is cancer free after a recent surgery to remove the cancerous tissue from his head.
- Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that starts in the same cells that give your skin, hair and eyes their color. Ninety percent of melanomas are caused by ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
- Paying attention to moles or growths on your skin is an easy way to look out for melanoma since changes to a mole you've had for a while or developing a new growth you don't remembering having on your skin could be signs of of this cancer, according to SurvivorNet's experts.
Dr. Jake is a psychiatry resident doctor with Jackson Memorial Hospital who just received his MD from Sidney Kimmel Medical College earlier this year. He’s used to sharing information about mental health for his extensive list of social media followers, over one million to be exact, but now he’s opening up the conversation to include cancer after a melanoma diagnosis earlier this month followed by a successful surgery to remove the cancerous tissue from his head.
Read More“Clear margins. I'm officially cancer free,” he wrote in his caption. “The tissue that was excised contained melanoma, and around the melanoma – clear, normal, non cancerous cells.”View this post on Instagram
But beyond expressing his feelings of happiness, he also relayed that he “got lucky.”
@jakegoodmanmdSecond Chance Energy. 🔥 Scrubs = @jaanuubydrneela ##happyhalloween ##jaanuu ##doctorsoftiktok ##premed ##medschool♬ original sound – Cocoweissman
“I could have easily pushed the skin check to next year,” he said. “I'm in my 20's anyways. I'm too young to get skin cancer, right? Wrong. Many aren't lucky. They find out too late when the cancer has already spread. Preventative care can save your life! It might have saved mine. Thank you all for your love and support during these last few weeks. I really needed it. P.S. I copped a sun hat 🤠, pics coming soon.”
Understanding Melanoma
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that starts in the same cells that give your skin, hair and eyes their color. The American Cancer Society estimates that 106,110 new melanomas will be diagnosed in the United States in 2021. And while the ACS says the risk of melanoma increases as people age with the average age of diagnosis being 65, the disease is not uncommon among those younger than 30 like Dr. Jake Goodman. In fact, it's one of the most common cancers in young adults (especially young women).
The disease can develop from an existing mole or appear as a dark or pink growth on the skin even in places on the body that never see the sun. It's also known to be the deadliest form of skin cancer.
"Melanomas are the deadliest type of skin cancer because they have a tendency to spread to other parts of the body," explains Dr. Anna Pavlick, an oncologist at NYU Langone Health's Perlmutter Cancer Center.
Paying Attention to Your Skin
Keeping an eye on the moles or growths on your skin is an easy way to keep an eye out for melanoma. Changes to a mole you've had for a while or developing a new growth you don't remembering having on your skin could be signs of this cancer, according to SurvivorNet's experts.
Examining Your Skin for Melanoma Remember ABCDE
Dr. Cecilia Larocca of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute gives SurvivorNet an overview of things to look out for with moles using the ABCDE self-screening method:
- Asymmetrical moles: "If you drew a line straight down the center of the mole, would the sides match?"
- Borders that are "irregular, jagged, not smooth." It can also stand for bleeding.
- Colors: "Multiple distinct colors in the mole."
- Diameter: "Larger than 6mm, about the size of a pencil head eraser."
- Evolution: "This may be the most important," she says. "Anything that is changing over time such as gaining color, losing color, painful, itching, hurting, changing shape, etc."
Spots on our skin are often harmless, but it's still important to keep an eye on them and reach out to your doctor if you see any changes or find a growth anywhere on your skin that looks suspicious. Like Dr. Jake Goodman emphasizes, it's important to make time for preventative checkups.
“Preventative care can save your life!” Goodman wrote on Instagram. “It might have saved mine.”
Protecting Yourself from Melanoma
Ninety percent of melanomas are caused by ultraviolet radiation from the sun. This means excessive time in the sun even as a child puts you at a higher risk.
Top 5 Ways to Protect Your Skin From Skin Cancer
In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Dendy Engelman from MDCS Dermatology in New York shared the top five things you can do to avoid skin cancer:
- Avoid sun during peak hours, which is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Wear a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses to protect the tops of our heads, the tops of our ears and the delicate area around the eye.
- Wear at least SPF 30 sunscreen and make sure to reapply every two hours or after excessive sweating or swimming.
- Have yearly skin checks (with a professional), because it's difficult to evaluate areas all over the body.
- Avoid tanning beds. There are no "good" tanning beds, and they can significantly increase your risk of melanoma.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.