What Are the Symptoms of Melanoma?
The most important thing to look out for when it comes to finding melanoma is a new spot on your skin, or a spot that is changing in size, shape, or color, SurvivorNet’s medical experts say. The spot will likely also look different from all of the other spots on your skin (doctors call this the “ugly duckling sign”).
When checking for melanoma, remember your ABCDEs
When you check your skin, use the acronym ABCDE as your guide:
- Asymmetrical moles: If you drew a line straight down the center of the mole, would the sides match?
- Borders: Is the mole irregular or jagged?
- Colors: Are there multiple distinct colors in the mole?
- Diameter: Is the mole larger than 6 millimeters (mm), about the size of a pencil head eraser?
- Evolution: Has the mole’s color, shape, or size changed over time?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, our experts say it’s time to see your dermatologist for a skin check.
Other red flags to watch for are:
- A sore that doesn’t heal
- Color that spreads from the border of a spot to the skin around it
- Redness or swelling that goes beyond the area of a mole
- Itchiness, tenderness, or pain
- A change in the way the surface of a mole looks
- Scaliness, oozing, or blood
Getting a Diagnosis
Unlike with other diseases, the workup for melanoma is pretty straightforward and simple. If you spy a suspicious growth or mole, and/or you want to get evaluated for any worrisome spots on your body, your dermatologist will do a head-to-toe visual examination of your skin.
If a growth warrants further evaluation, you might get a biopsy, which just means removing a tiny piece of skin and sending it to a lab to test for cancer. A biopsy will rule out or confirm whether you have melanoma.
If your doctor happens to detect an advanced melanoma, you may need to have imaging and blood tests done. This will allow your dermatologist to zero in on a specific diagnosis and determine your treatment plan.
The way that melanoma spreads is a bit different than other cancers. Rather than spread directly to other organs, it spreads to the different layers that make up your skin. The higher your stage of melanoma, the deeper it has spread into the layers of your skin, and the more serious your cancer is.
Your doctor will stage your melanoma based on how deep the cancer has gone into your skin.
How does your doctor figure out your cancer stage? Medical oncologist Dr. Anna Pavlick explains.
- Melanoma in situ is a stage zero melanoma that’s commonly found on the top layer of sun-damaged skin. It is highly treatable with surgical removal, and it does not usually invade beyond the skin or spread to other organs.
- Stage I melanoma is no bigger than the size of a sharpened pencil. It’s easily cured by having a dermatologist remove it.
- Stage II melanoma has spread slightly deeper into the skin.
- Stage III melanoma has spread into the lymph nodes.
- Stage IV is when the melanoma has reached other organs, like the lungs, liver, or brain.
Knowing the stage and other characteristics of your cancer will help your doctor zero in on the right treatment for you.