Melanoma is easily the most dangerous form of skin cancer, causing the most deaths compared to other types of skin cancer. Melanoma is caused when damage to skin cells cause them to mutate and lead to rapidly-forming malignant tumours. Most melanomas are brown or black in colour, but they can be skin-coloured, pink, red, purple, blue or even white.
Most often, Melanoma is caused by sun exposure or blistering sunburns. Those people with a fair skin type, a family history of skin cancer or a large number of moles are at a greater risk for developing melanoma.
The best way to prevent Melanoma is to wear sunscreen every single day (including winter days), avoiding tanning, do not burn, and stay out of the sun between 10 am and 4 pm.
Did You Know?
Dr. Lycka founded the Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation in 2002. He founded the organization to educate people on the dangers of overexposure to the sun’s harmful UV rays. Since its inception, the foundation has worked with thousands of school children, helping them learn tools to be ‘sun safe’ and has contributed over $80,000 towards Melanoma Research at the Albert Cancer Foundation.
Images of Melanomas:
