Early body reactions to melanoma

Each of us has more or less moles on our body, and the locations of their occurrence are also different. Some are more common on the face, some on the legs, and some on the neck. In fact, the occurrence of moles is mainly caused by melanoma. If there are no special symptoms, no treatment is required. If the melanoma has changes, such as suddenly becoming larger or changing color, it must be treated in time.

The early symptoms of melanoma are so obvious, but most people miss them.

Because moles are more common on the face and neck, they inevitably become a unique personal mark. This mark may have aesthetic meaning, such as beauty mole and peach blossom mole; it may also have "physiognomy" meaning, such as the "great man mole" on the left side of the chin, the mole that brings good fortune to the husband, etc. The above are good meanings.

Unfortunately, more often than not, moles destroy facial aesthetics and physiognomy, impose psychological burdens on aspiring men and women, and even destroy good interpersonal relationships, causing trouble in employment and mate selection. Then, this kind of resection based on improving the aesthetic appearance is necessary.

Another factor that influences our decision is whether the mole is malignant and whether it will become malignant in the future. First of all, we need to know what impact a malignant mole will have on our health.

From this perspective, malignant moles can be divided into two categories. One is skin cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma transformed from nevus cells. They have a high incidence but a relatively low degree of malignancy. Most of them can be cured through surgical resection, and only a very small number of advanced skin cancers may pose a fatal risk. The other is melanoma transformed from nevus cells, which is an extremely malignant tumor.

Although great progress has been made in the treatment of melanoma, due to the poor medical awareness of Chinese people, most of them have progressed to stage 4 when discovered, with a mortality rate as high as 70%~90%, and life expectancy of only a few months to one or two years. The 5-year survival rate of stage 1 melanoma can reach 94%, with an extremely high cure rate. Therefore, early detection and early treatment are particularly important. Here is a special reminder that no matter what, moles on the soles of the feet should be seen by a doctor before determining whether they should be treated. Although they do not affect the appearance, there is a high possibility of melanoma, especially the fast-growing ones.

When deciding whether to remove a mole, our main consideration is whether it will turn into melanoma. Fortunately, there are still some clues that doctors can follow up and make an evaluation and diagnosis. It should be emphasized that early diagnosis means saving lives. However, not all patients can conveniently seek medical treatment anytime and anywhere, and moles continue to change throughout life, so self-examination is particularly important.