A lot of people don’t realize it, but you can actually get cancer of the eye. So, eye health is another area that we should all be monitoring. Uveal melanoma is a disease that forms in the tissue of the eye. Unlike melanoma of the skin, uveal melanoma is not caused by UV rays from the sun … the cause of this disease is still being studied by researchers.
RELATED: AM I AT HIGH RISK FOR MELANOMA?
“Unfortunately, we don’t know what causes uveal melanoma,” Dr. Sapna Patel, a melanoma oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet, “which makes it even more important that everybody gets their eyes checked, because we don’t know who is at risk for this disease.”
Even though the disease is rare, Dr. Patel recommends getting regular check-ups to monitor for uveal melanoma.
“Everyone should get dilated every year,” she said. “There is an ‘I get dilated’ campaign, that started in the U.S., to try and inform the general public. 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.”
Even though doctors are still trying to work out what causes uveal melanoma, they do know that certain physical traits put people at a greater risk.
“It is a disease that happens the most frequently in caucasians and it happens in patients with hazel, green, or blue eyes more frequently than brown eyes … though we’re not clear of the mechanism that protects darker iris individuals from melanoma,” Dr. Patel said.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Dr. Sapna Patel is a melanoma oncologist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Read More
A lot of people don’t realize it, but you can actually get cancer of the eye. So, eye health is another area that we should all be monitoring. Uveal melanoma is a disease that forms in the tissue of the eye. Unlike melanoma of the skin, uveal melanoma is not caused by UV rays from the sun … the cause of this disease is still being studied by researchers.
RELATED: AM I AT HIGH RISK FOR MELANOMA?
Read More “Unfortunately, we don’t know what causes uveal melanoma,” Dr. Sapna Patel, a melanoma oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet, “which makes it even more important that everybody gets their eyes checked, because we don’t know who is at risk for this disease.”
Even though the disease is rare, Dr. Patel recommends getting regular check-ups to monitor for uveal melanoma.
“Everyone should get dilated every year,” she said. “There is an ‘I get dilated’ campaign, that started in the U.S., to try and inform the general public. 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.”
Even though doctors are still trying to work out what causes uveal melanoma, they do know that certain physical traits put people at a greater risk.
“It is a disease that happens the most frequently in caucasians and it happens in patients with hazel, green, or blue eyes more frequently than brown eyes … though we’re not clear of the mechanism that protects darker iris individuals from melanoma,” Dr. Patel said.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Dr. Sapna Patel is a melanoma oncologist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Read More
