Personal history of melanoma. This factor represents a 9-fold risk. Family history of melanoma in a parent, sibling, or child. This factor represents an 8-fold risk. The above traits do not guarantee that you will develop melanoma but justify your seeking medical advice.
Some people avoid or delay seeking medical advice because their information is misleading or false.
Some people believe that melanoma is not treatable. Melanoma is curable if detected and treated in an early stage of development. Timely detection and surgical excision of melanoma usually result in cure. This myth started 50 years ago, when patients delayed seeking medical advice until melanomas were large, oozing, and painful. Neglected tumors have a greater chance of spreading to vital internal organs.