Malignant Melanoma can be cured in 95% of cases if detected early (this is what I have been told). That last part is the real kicker. EARLY!
I am here to tell you that moles are not the only source of this deadly skin cancer. I am not a doctor, that will spill out all kinds of facts and figures and percentages, but a grieving sister.
I lost my brother this past April to Melanoma Skin Cancer, and I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep a check on your own body. After all we are responsible for our own health. My brother was only 48 years old, but was a redhead with fair skin, he knew about the signs and symptoms and risks of melanoma, and how to watch for changing moles.
But what happened to him, was a little different. He noticed a small thin cut on his thigh while in the shower. He couldn't remember cutting himself, but he said it was almost like a thin paper cut. The next day, it started to form an ugly scab. He thought nothing of it, until the scab got a bit more 3D looking, and dark, then it came off and started all over again.
He ignored this as a cut that was having trouble healing.. he just kept spraying it with antiseptic spray, after all, it didn’t even hurt and had no redness. He left it for a very long time, until finally he got fed up with his jeans irritating it and went to the doctor to get antibiotics for what he thought was an infected cut.
The doctor sent him immediately for a biopsy, and that is when he found out about melanoma and how cuts that don't heal are another sign, he always thought it was just moles. His came back stage 4, and after further tests, the melanoma had already spread to other internal organs. Melanoma cancer does not respond to typical cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, and there was not much that could be done at this stage.
If he had of gone within that first month, he may have had a chance.. but we will never know now. He burned a lot as a kid, and like the rest of us from that era, we burned and baked to get that "glow". It is important to use sunscreen, and check your skin regularly for changes.. In the end, your skin health is up to you and no one else. and it is not just moles... ANY changes in your skin are worth investigating further.
