- Blistering sunburns
- Tanning bed use
- Light skin, light-colored eyes, or red or blond hair
- Moles that are asymmetrical or large
- Time in the sun without protection
- Numerous moles (50 or more)
- Being age 50 or older
- A family history of melanoma
- Lowered immunity
- A thyroid, breast or previous skin cancer diagnosis
To reduce these risks, Greenway recommends wearing sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat and using a water-resistant sunscreen that protects against both UVB and UVA light when out in the sun.
“I tell my patients here at Scripps between a 30 to 50 [SPF sunscreen] is fine,” he advises.
Melanoma types
The Skin Cancer Foundation lists four main types of melanoma:
- Superficial spreading melanoma is the most common type and tends to occur on the upper back, the legs for women and the torso for men
- Lentigo maligna melanoma tends to occur in older adults and often shows up on the arms, upper torso, face and ears
- Acral lentiginous melanoma is the most common type for people of color and mostly occurs on the soles of the feet, palms and under the nails
- Nodular melanoma is considered the most aggressive type and typically occurs on the arms, legs, torso and scalp in older men
RELATED: Skin Cancer Can Strike Your Nails: Here’s How to Check
Melanoma symptoms
So, what does melanoma look like?
Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center says to be on the lookout for irregular-looking spots on your skin, new spots or ones that change size, shape or color.
Other melanoma symptoms may include:
- Fluid (like blood or puss) on a spot’s surface
- Itching, redness or pain
- New inflammation outside the spot’s original borders
- Color (pigmentation) that spreads to surrounding areas
- A spot that won’t heal
To help you identify a melanoma, Greenway suggests the A-B-C-D-E rule.
“‘A’ stands for asymmetry,” he explains. If you draw a line down the middle of a melanoma spot or mole, one half won’t typically match the other.
The “B” is borders that aren’t regular. “That one [mole] that’s got a lot of outcropping and things, we say that’s a little irregular,” he notes.
“C” stands for color. “All of a sudden if you’ve got a mole that’s got a lot of blacks in it, reds, different colors, that could be a sign that