Quite scary statistics but the good news is that skin cancer can be prevented. But first here are some details on what skin cancer is. Malignant Melanoma is the most dangerous of all skin cancers and if it is left untreated the cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body. Melanoma is directly linked to overexposure to the sun but can appear anywhere on the body not just in sun-exposed areas. However, if melanomas are detected and treated early the recovery rate is very high.
Melanomas appear as either a new spot or an existing spot that changes colour, size or shape.
The colour is not the same. There could be shades of tan, black, red or white through the mole. If your mole grows larger than six millimetres then you should get it checked out. Including bleeding, pain, itchiness, tenderness or scaliness. If you do self-exams of your skin you will soon know when a mole has appeared or changed in appearance and the sooner you know the sooner it can be checked out by your doctor or dermatologist and treated.