Attempting to remove a suspected melanoma yourself is highly dangerous and ineffective, leading to severe health consequences, masking the lesion’s true nature, and significantly delaying proper medical diagnosis and treatment. Understanding the harm of self-removal and knowing appropriate steps for suspicious skin changes protects your health. This article explains what melanoma is, the risks of self-treatment, how to identify suspicious changes, and the professional medical approach.
Understanding Melanoma
Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer that originates in melanocytes, the cells responsible for producing melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color. These cells are located in the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. While most melanomas appear on skin frequently exposed to the sun, they can develop anywhere on the body, including areas with little sun exposure. About 20% to 30% of melanomas begin in existing moles, but others can appear on seemingly normal skin.
Melanoma is considered more dangerous than other types of skin cancer because of its aggressive nature and potential to spread rapidly to other parts of the body. If not detected and treated early, melanoma cells can disseminate through the bloodstream or lymphatic system to distant organs such as the lungs, liver, brain, or lymph nodes.
Risks of Self-Removal
Trying to pick off, cut out, or otherwise self-treat a suspected melanoma carries substantial risks and can worsen health outcomes. One significant danger is incomplete removal, where cancerous cells remain in the deeper layers of the skin. This leaves the melanoma to continue growing and potentially spread internally, undetected by the individual.
Self-treatment also leads to a delay in professional diagnosis and treatment. When a lesion is tampered with at home, it prevents a medical professional from properly examining and biopsying the suspicious area. This lost time allows the melanoma to advance, increasing the likelihood of metastasis and reducing the chances of successful treatment.
Disturbing a cancerous lesion can potentially encourage the spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body. While not a direct cause of metastasis, physical disruption might release cells into the bloodstream or lymphatic system, making the cancer much harder to contain and treat. This makes any action that could promote their spread particularly risky.
Additionally, attempting self-removal increases the risk of infection and significant scarring. Unsanitized tools or improper wound care can introduce bacteria, leading to infections like cellulitis or abscesses. These infections cause pain, swelling, and can further complicate the area, potentially obscuring the original lesion and making future professional diagnosis more challenging. Scarring can also permanently alter the appearance of the skin, making it difficult to monitor the area for recurrence or new suspicious changes.
Identifying Suspicious Skin Changes
Regular self-skin exams are an important step in recognizing potential signs of melanoma and knowing when to seek professional medical attention. Individuals should routinely check their skin for any new moles, spots, or changes in existing ones. Pay attention to areas that are exposed to the sun, as well as less obvious places like the scalp, soles of the feet, and between fingers and toes.
The “ABCDE” rule provides a helpful guide for identifying suspicious moles or lesions. “A” stands for Asymmetry, meaning one half of the mole does not match the other half. Normal moles are symmetrical, while melanomas often have an uneven shape. “B” is for Border irregularity, where the edges of the spot are often ragged, notched, or blurred, unlike the smooth, well-defined borders of benign moles.
“C” refers to Color variation, indicating the presence of multiple colors within the same lesion. Melanomas can display shades of brown, black, and tan, and may also include areas of red, white, or blue. “D” represents Diameter, with a warning sign being a mole larger than 6 millimeters (about 1/4 inch or the size of a pencil eraser). While melanomas can be smaller, this size is a common indicator. “E” signifies Evolving, meaning any change over time in the mole’s size, shape, color, or elevation. New symptoms such as itching, tenderness, or bleeding can also indicate evolution and warrant concern. Not every mole fitting these criteria is melanoma, but any changes or new spots exhibiting these characteristics should prompt a professional evaluation by a dermatologist.
Professional Diagnosis and Treatment
When a suspicious skin change is identified, seeking professional medical evaluation from a dermatologist is the appropriate course of action. Dermatologists are specialists in skin diseases and possess expertise in melanoma risk assessment and clinical diagnosis through visual inspection. They often use a dermatoscope, a special magnifying tool, to get a closer look at abnormal spots on the skin and observe features invisible to the naked eye.
To confirm a diagnosis, a biopsy is performed, which involves removing a tissue sample for laboratory testing. An excisional biopsy, where the entire suspicious growth and some surrounding healthy tissue are removed, is often preferred when melanoma is suspected. A pathologist then examines the tissue under a microscope to check for cancer cells and determine the type and stage of melanoma. This process is the only definitive way to diagnose melanoma.
If melanoma is confirmed, the primary treatment for early-stage cases is typically surgical excision. This procedure, often called a wide local excision, involves removing the melanoma along with a margin of healthy tissue around it. The size of this margin depends on the thickness and other characteristics of the tumor. For many patients with early-stage melanoma, this surgical removal can be curative.
For more advanced cases, where the melanoma may have spread, additional treatments might be necessary. This could include a sentinel lymph node biopsy to check for cancer spread to nearby lymph nodes. Further treatment options for advanced melanoma can involve immunotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation, or chemotherapy, which aim to control the cancer and improve quality of life. The specific treatment plan depends on the melanoma’s stage and the patient’s overall health.