How To Recognize Skin Cancer – This Could Save Your Life

UPPER ROW – Melanoma – showing (A) Asymmetry, (B) a border that is uneven, ragged, or notched, (C) coloring of different shades of brown, black, or tan and (D) diameter that had changed in size.. LOWER ROW – “Ordinary” moles. Image – Wikipedia (PD)

Melanoma is a serious form of cancer and is probably the most dangerous of all skin conditions. It’s a killer – because it can spread (metastasize) throughout the body, gradually taking over.

There are pictures on Wikipedia of melanoma that has spread throughout the body and although it’s important for people to realize how serious this is, I honestly didn’t want to reshare them because they might be too distressing for some viewers. The kind of thing that once you have seen, you wish you hadn’t. Trust me, it’s bad. Please don’t underestimate the severity of this condition and why a few minutes taken to learn about this could be vital.

Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Globally it occurs in around 232,000 people and results in 55,000 deaths per year. ^[1] Australia and New Zealand have the highest rates of melanoma in the world. There are also high rates in Europe and North America while it is less common in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It is more predominant in caucasian populations that experience high sun exposure and more common in older people.

The thing that’s super important to learn is that time is of the essence with melanoma. If you can catch it before it has spread, you have a much better chance and may be able to get rid of it – typically through minor surgery. Once it has spread, your chances of survival drop from 98% to 17%.

This is why we bring you this report on how to recognize melanoma. Please remember that this website only gives general information guidelines and not medical advice – and that it is super-important that if you have something strange going on with your skin, to get it checked by a medical professional as soon as possible. Sometimes skin cancers can take the form of a small sore or something that “won’t go away” and doesn’t appear to heal in a normal fashion.

The five keys to recognize melanoma are often given in the simple A,B,C,D,E format:

Asymmetry
Borders (irregular)
Color (variation in color or shading)
Diameter (greater than 6 mm (0.24 in), about the size of a pencil eraser)
Evolving, enlarging or elevating

It’s important to note that these classifications do not, however, apply to the most dangerous form of melanoma, nodular melanoma, which has its own classifications (E,F,G):

Elevated above the skin surface
Firm to the touch
Growing

There are numerous tips for risk reduction: #1 and considered the most important is to limit sun exposure and in particular try to avoid getting sunburn as this has been linked to melanoma. There are those that say that sunscreen, typically considered the “weapon of choice”, contains too many toxins and may even be detrimental. We have a report on how to make your own sunscreen using natural ingredients: https://herbshealthhappiness.com/how-to-make-your-own-sunscreen-using-natural-ingredients/

Another very interesting tip – the herb milk thistle. Several scientific studies have shown that milk thistle has been found by researchers to have an amazing action against skin cancer cells (click for our full report on that). Milk thistle is also considered one of the best supporting herbs for the liver and is what’s known as a tonic herb – with scientific studies demonstrating no adverse effects when taken in typical supplement form over a long period.

Photos – Wikipedia (PD)