Eastern Skin Cancer Clinic Explains:
Types of Skin Cancer
The rate of skin cancer in Melbourne is lower than in Queensland, but is still very high in comparison to the rest of the world. This is due to the majority of the population having fair, northern European skin, but living in a sunny tropical and sub-tropical country.
Skin cancer accounts for around 80% of all cancer diagnosed in Australia each year. There are three common types of skin cancer, which are listed here in increasing order of seriousness.
Information on our skin cancer checks in Melbourne can be found here.
Melanoma
Melanoma is by far the most dangerous form of skin cancer. In Australia, about 4% of men and 3% of women will have one in their lifetime.
What is often not well understood is why melanoma is so dangerous – after all, why would a cancer on your skin be such a problem? The answer is that, for reasons that are mostly unknown, melanoma has an amazing and devastating ability to spread throughout the body. It usually starts as what seems to be like a harmless-looking mole on your skin, but can quickly spread to other organs such as brain, lungs and liver.
So, people who die of melanoma don’t die from skin cancer on their skin, they die of skin cancer that has spread somewhere else. An example of this is legendary AFL coach Tom Hafey. He had a melanoma removed from his back in 1990, then in 2014 later it came back in his brain, causing his death. He didn’t die of a brain tumour, he died of skin cancer in his brain.
In Australia, melanoma kills over 1,600 people per year, and this number is rising rapidly.
Here are some images of three melanomas, with overview on the left and dermatoscopic (extreme close-up) views on the right. All of these melanomas are brown to black, but be aware that sometimes melanomas are pink, red or even blue.
The Risk
The crucial factor that determines how dangerous a melanoma is when it’s found is it’s depth. Thin melanomas that exist only in the upper layer of skin – the epidermis – have almost no risk of spreading.
But deeper melanomas that have already invaded into the dermis can spread, and the likelihood of them spreading is proportional to how deep they are when they are removed – deeper is worse. So if you notice a new or changing mole, don’t delay getting it checked – a skin cancer Doctor may well save your life.
Protect yourself and your family.
Get a check today!
We are a skin cancer clinic in Upper Ferntree Gully.
Dr. Matt Reid is a caring and highly qualified Accredited Skin Cancer Doctor who specialises in skin cancer diagnoses and skin cancer treatment.
Come and see Matt at Eastern Skin Cancer Clinic today!