Risk Factors

            UV damage certainly plays a role in skin cancer and I believe it was behind my melanoma. Additionally, some types of skin moles need to be watched. A change in shape, color, or the development of a new mole should cause you to seek medical attention. While your primary care doc may be able to detect a problem, it is best to see a dermatologist who deals more often with disease of the skin than your family doc. If you have moles and a family history of melanoma you are at greater risk. If you have a suppressed immune system you are more at risk. And if you are over 50 you are at th right age to develop skin cancer.

            So, this blue-eyed, blond-haired boy whose Dad had a thin melanoma removed from his hand, got UV damage to the light skin in the middle of his back where he could not see it and was diagnosed with a deep melanoma at the age of 54.