THE BENEFITS OF EARLY DETECTION OF MELANOMA

The skin is the largest and most exposed organ in the body. More people are diagnosed with skin cancer every year in the United States than all other cancers combined. Therefore, it’s important to monitor your skin for cancer, especially melanoma. While melanoma is rare accounting for only 1% of skin cancers it causes a large proportion of the deaths from skin cancer.

Why is melanoma so deadly? Because it can easily and quickly spread (metastasize) to other organs. Melanoma experts stage (figure out the extent of) melanoma based on how thick it is, whether it is ulcerated, and how much it has spread. In Stage I and Stage II melanoma, depth and ulceration are the two important factors.

When melanoma metastasizes (spreads), it is harder to treat and can be deadly. For instance, when melanoma is localized (Stage 0, I, or II), the five-year survival rate is 99.5%, meaning more than 99 out of 100 people will be alive five years after diagnosis. The five-year survival rate drops to 71% for people with Stage III melanoma (called “regional” disease because it has spread, but not too far), and 32% for people with Stage IV melanoma (called “distant” disease because it has spread to distant sites in the body).

The good news is that the earlier melanoma is found, the better the chance of achieving good outcomes. Many localized melanomas can be cut out and effectively cured by surgery. That’s why finding melanoma at its earliest stages is critical when it is most curable. You need a plan to evaluate your skin

Stage 0 (in situ): Melanoma that is confined to just the upper layer of the skin the epidermis

Stage I: Local melanoma that extends into the dermis up to 1 mm in depth regardless of ulceration status or up to 2 mm in depth if not ulcerated

Stage II: Local melanoma that is generally deeper than Stage I melanoma: either more than 1 mm and up to 2 mm if ulcerated or more than 2 mm in depth regardless of ulceration status

Stage III: Melanoma that spreads to the regional lymph nodes or to the region between the primary melanoma and those lymph nodes

Stage IV: Melanoma that spreads beyond the regional lymph nodes to distant sites (e g , to the lungs, brain, etc )