Ninety percent of melanomas are caused by ultraviolet radiation from the sun. That means you’re at risk if you spent excessive amounts of time in the sun–even as a child. If you ever got scalding sunburns, or were a fan of tanning salons, it’s important to get your skin checked out.
“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.
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Melanoma can develop from an existing mole or it can appear as a dark or pink growth on the skin–and it can appear in places that were never exposed to the sun.
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