A 54-year-old woman was diagnosed with skin cancer while accompanying her best friend to see a doctor! Can a mole become cancerous?

Recently, a 54-year-old woman accompanied her best friend to see a doctor and was diagnosed with skin cancer. It turned out that Aunt Li from Zhejiang accompanied her best friend to the hospital's dermatology department for an examination. Her best friend was fine, but the doctor highly suspected that Aunt Li had basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.

Skin cancer may not itch or hurt in the early stages, and there are no obvious symptoms. Many people do not pay attention to it, and it is often not diagnosed and treated until it develops to a later stage. Therefore, it is very important to raise awareness of disease prevention, early diagnosis and early treatment. How to prevent skin cancer? How to determine whether a mole on the body is melanoma? Let's take a look together...

What is skin cancer?

Skin cancer is usually divided into the following common types:

1. Basal cell carcinoma - the most common

Basal cell carcinoma is more common in middle-aged and older adults, especially those who work outdoors and have light skin and are often exposed to sunlight. It often occurs in exposed areas, such as the face, back of the hands, and forearms. It is divided into nodular, superficial, sclerosing, pigmented, and fibroepithelioma types, with the nodular type being the most common.

2. Squamous cell carcinoma – second most common

It mainly occurs in the elderly, and is prone to occur on the scalp, face, back of the hands and other light-exposed areas. Typical symptoms are wart-like or papilloma-like, with scaling on the surface, ulcers in the middle, necrosis and bleeding on the surface of the ulcer, and wide cauliflower-like edges.

3. Melanoma

Melanoma progresses rapidly, is easy to metastasize, and has a high mortality rate. However, if it is treated regularly in the early stage, the 5-year survival rate can reach more than 90%. The prognosis of patients in the late stage is very poor, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 10%.

Among them, basal cell carcinoma has the highest cure rate, while melanoma has the lowest survival rate.

People at high risk of skin cancer include the following:

Skin cancer high risk groups

1. Frequent exposure to the sun and ultraviolet rays;

2. Long-term contact with chemical substances, such as asphalt, tar, etc.;

3. Suffering from chronic skin diseases and precancerous lesions;

4. Have a history of skin cancer or a family history;

5. Congenital birthmarks have grown significantly in the recent period;

6. Moles appear in areas prone to friction.

Which types of moles are likely to become cancerous?

Overall, these three types of moles are prone to cancer:

1. Moles are located in areas that are frequently rubbed

If the area where the "mole" grows is frequently rubbed, such as the oral mucosa, palms, soles of the feet, vulva, anus, genitals and other special areas, pigmented moles are prone to malignant transformation.

2. Moles are exposed to the outside for a long time

Ultraviolet rays may increase the chance of changes in moles due to long-term sun exposure.

3. Congenitally huge mole

It is present at birth and has a diameter of more than 6 mm.

How to differentiate between a mole and melanoma?

5 tips to help you identify: the following symptoms of pigmented moles may be characteristics of melanoma:

1. The two sides are asymmetrical, the edges are uneven, and they change into jagged shapes;

2. Sudden increase in area or volume;

3. There are bulges, ulcers, exudates or bleeding;

4. The color suddenly turns darker or black, with pink, white, or blue-black mixed in with brown or tan;

5. New small black spots appear around the mole.

How to prevent skin cancer?

1. Prevent ultraviolet rays

Take good care of yourself when outdoors and avoid exposure to ultraviolet rays generated by the instrument.

When laboring or working outdoors, pay attention to sun protection. It is recommended to use physical sun protection methods such as hats and parasols, and you can use sunscreen.

The sunscreen should have an SPF index greater than 30. If you are outdoors for a long time, you should reapply sunscreen in time. Ordinary masks do not have sun protection function, so sunscreen should also be applied to the parts covered by the mask.

2. Try not to get tattoos.

3. Actively treat chronic skin diseases and precancerous lesions

Such as chronic skin diseases such as ulcers, inflammation, burn scars, and precancerous lesions such as actinic keratosis and xeroderma pigmentosum.

4. Exercise actively, eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, supplement vitamins reasonably, and enhance resistance and immunity.

5. Try to avoid long-term contact with harmful chemicals, such as asphalt, tar, arsenic, benzopyrene, etc.

6. Try to avoid ionizing radiation. People who are exposed to X-rays or radiation should take good protection.

Currently, skin cancer is treated with conventional surgery, laser and radiotherapy to directly remove or destroy tumor tissue.