Prevention
OF MELANOMA
MEDICAL
CAROLINE L. MacLEOD
MD, MPH & TM
Medical Director
Every year there are over 13,000 new cases
of melanoma diagnosed in Australia,
which is double the rate reported in the
United States. This is partly due to the
hole in the ozone layer, which we need to
continue to repair, but also our outdoor
lifestyle. I don’t want to discourage
because this is important in preventing
heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Even though individuals with red or ginger
hair, freckled skin, or skin that can’t tan
are at higher risk of melanoma, individuals
with darker pigmentation get melanoma
most notably on the soles of their feet,
while Asians have more melanomas
under their finger or toenails.
If you have had skin cancer in the past,
you have an increased risk of having skin
cancers in the future. However, there are
now treatments that can make you more
resistant to skin cancer. Still, the number
one preventive is using protective clothing
- hats, gloves, and sunscreens. The
sunscreen should be applied 20 minutes
before going outside and reapplied
twenty minutes later and depending on
the sunscreen reapplied 2-4 hours later.
Products containing zinc give cover the
widest spectrum of harmful ultraviolet
light however no product protects against
UVC radiation produced when welding
which is why protective clothing, hats,
goggles are so important. Sunglasses
are important to protect against ocular
melanoma as well as cataracts and age-
related macular degeneration.
Sunscreen works as shown by a recent
study in Queensland where the Nambour
Skin Cancer Prevention Trial group that
used sunscreen daily for 10 years had
half the melanomas and were less likely
to have an invasive melanoma than the
group that only used sunscreen when
they thought needed. Children who used
daily sunscreen for three years developed
fewer moles than the group of children
whose parents were given no advise
about using sunscreen. As the number of
moles increases, the risk of melanoma
increases. Interestingly, the conversion
of vitamin D in the skin was not lowered
by sunscreen in the Nambour study.
If melanoma is detected early, the cure
rates are extremely high which is why I
recommend monthly self-examination
of the skin. You can do this at the same
time as when examining the breast or
testes, which also saves lives. You can
incorporate a skin examination which is
illustrated on www.skincaner.org. You
are looking for anything new, changing,
isolated or skin lesion with symptoms
e.g. itchy, bleeding, sticking on clothing.
The point is not to wait and consult your
doctor and never hesitate to get a second
opinion. Nodular melanoma can invade
very quickly and I think patients may
become complacent because they are
having skin checks every few months.
Ocean Health Clinic
Caroline L. MacLeod
M.D., M.P.H. & T.M.
Paradise Village Shopping Centre
111 Williams Esplanade, Palm Cove
Medical Director
General Practitioner with special interest in
COSMETIC, PREVENTIVE & SKIN CANCER MEDICINE
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