Hi all.
Okay, I think I have melanoma. I have a doctor's appt. in ten days so I won't know for sure until then. But whatever I have has been very fast growing and it's in a place that doesn't get any sun. I guess I always thought skin cancer only happened on places that got sunburned. Does anyone know. I've looked up the signs and the three different kinds of skin cancer and even though I don't fit the typical profile of someone who is more likely to get skin cancer: i.e. I'm young, I am not fair skinned or light eyed and I've never had a bad sunburn in my life my growth meets all the qualifications of melanoma.
So does anyone know what causes melanoma if it's not caused by the sun and are there any good foods to eat to help your body fight it?
Thanks,
Lynn

melanoma can happen anywhere, including places that typically are not sun exposed like between the toes, the buttocks, etc.
melanoma is a cancer of the melanin producing cells, which is why moles are checked.
green tea is reputed to be a cancer fighter. as anecdotal evidence i can offer my husband's coworker who is irish-scottish with plae skin, freckles and red hair who has lived in the south his whole life but drinks a pot of green tea every day and has not had any problems.
i just finished reading a magazine article on skin cancer where they profiled a black woman, a white former sun worshipper, and a white woman who stayed out of the sun, and you were supposed to guess which one had skin cancer. ALL of them did. so it can happen to anyone, any time, any age. there have been 14 year olds with melanoma.
my husband had it age 28, which is why i am such a fountain of knowledge! ;)

Hi Lynn
How did it go with the doctor? I've recently had a suspect melanoma removed - it was on my stomach (a place where the sun rarely shines) and I'd been watching it for years. It was nearly black and itched occasionally, suddenly it got prickely and white spots in it. My local GP removed it and after an anxious wait the results were negative. I have another suspect one on my arm which the doc didn't remove but it gets a scab occasionally and I have to put total sunblock on it. He advised me to wear factor 30 sunblock and cover any moles I was worried about with clothing or plasters when out and not to sunbath.
I'm olive skinned with dark eyes but spent my child hood in Africa and used to be a sun worshipper.
My mother had a malignant melanoma removed 2 years ago. Her doctor noticed it and they removed it the same day, it was cancer so a week later they removed a large section around the site on her arm. There is no other treatment except every 3 months she goes to get checked from head to toe. It makes her very embarrassed to stand totally naked in front of 2 young doctors who go over every inch of her skin with magnifying glasses but figures that is just what has to be done!
From now on I will go to a dermatologist everyyear for a full skin check up. an australian friend of mine does this every year as a precaution, apparently most people there do this.
Really hope you are ok, let us know!
Amulet

hey guys!
whew! it's been so crazy around my house that i haven't had much time to get on the computer. My doctor's appt. is on thursday. i can't wait to go because it seems to be getting worse by the day. i just want whatever it is gone because it is making me nervous.
Amulet, i am olive skinned as well with dark eyes and dark hair. it's so weird but the more I'm reading the more i realize that it is happening to more and more people of all ages and skin types.I'm glad things turned out ok for you and your mom.
shoshannas mom, thanks for all the info. i went out and did some internet research after i read your post. Did everything turn out ok with your husband?
I'll let you guys know how it goes after thur. but it might be friday before i can get onto the computer. Thanks both of you for replying and caring. I'll update you soon.

yes, hubby is fine. he has a massive scar from where they removed the surrounding tissue, but better a scar than a casket. i check him constantly, and as a result, he has had a bunch more moles removed, some pre-cancerous. he is very thankful to have me around!
good luck at the doctors! the first doctor my husband went to told him that he would check him again in a year!!!! i freaked out and made him go to another doctor, since melanoma can kill you in 6 months. his cancer was only .03 mm deep, which is very shallow. yeah for me!

I am lucky, I didn't have a melanoma, mine was a basal cell carcinoma right on my face between my lip and my nose. I had doctors checking it all the time and no one caught it. After 4 years of it being there, I went to a dermatoligist in the States last summer and he saw it before I could even point it out to him. He said I should have it removed as soon as I got to Switzerland (I had to have a plastic surgeon do it because it was on my face). Anyway, my point is to anyone out there reading this, go to a dermatoligist once a year for a check up! The general doctors where I was living in Norway missed it - the dermatologist said it was probably because of my age (37 last summer - they generally come in your 50's).
Now I go twice a year for a head to toe check.:thumb

Hey guys!
Just wanted to check in a let you know that it wasn't melanoma. just some crazy infection that looks a lot like it! Sorry it took so long to get back to you but our internet connection ran out (we get a free service with limited time) and I had to find time to come to the library to post. Thanks everyone for the concern and info. This has been quite a learning experience