twitch streamer ninja diagnosed with skin cancer: how to spot the signs of melanoma and the latest treatments

staying on top of your skin health with the abcde guide

• asymmetry: if one half of the mole is different from the other or asymmetrical, it should be examined by a dermatologist.
• border: uneven edges, whether they’re jagged or blurry warrant an examination.
• colour: if a mole is more than one colour, such as half being brown and the other half being closer to black, it could be cancerous.
• diameter: larger moles are more likely to be cancerous than smaller ones. if a mole is larger than 6mm in diameter, it should be investigated.
• evolving/evolution: evolving moles, or changing moles, get bigger, change shape, or transform from one colour into another are considered suspicious.

• a body-length mirror
• handheld mirror
• a comb (to check in places that grow hair and obstruct your ability to see the skin)

• check your back, front, and sides in a full-length mirror
• bend your elbows to examine underarms, forearms, and palms
• using a handheld mirror, examine the backs of the legs, feet, and soles of the feet as well as the spaces between the toes
• using a handheld mirror and a full-body mirror together, position the handheld mirror so that it reflects off the body mirror, showing the back of your neck and scalp.
• check your back and buttocks using the handheld mirror

melanoma survival rates by stage and risk factors

when looking at the five-year survival rate of melanoma , which is the rate of survival five years after diagnosis as compared to the general population, it’s broken down into stages:

• stage 1b: 92 per cent.
• stage 2a: 81 per cent.
• stage 2b: 70 per cent.
• stage 2c: 53 per cent.
• stage 3a: 78 per cent.
• stage 3b: 59 per cent.
• stage 3c: 40 per cent.
• stage 4: 15 to 20 per cent.

• exposure to ultraviolet radiation (uvr) from the sun, tanning beds, or sun lamps
• having a lot of moles or a lot of atypical moles
• birthmarks or moles that have been there since birth, known as congenital melanocytic nevi
• certain hereditary conditions, including fammm syndrome, xeroderma pigmentosum, werner syndrome, or retinablastoma
• those of caucasian descent, and having light skin, hair, and eyes
• family history of skin cancer
• a mutation in the cdkn2a gene, which helps with the suppression of cancer cell growth
• weakened immunity

treatments on the horizon for melanoma

• immunotherapy, where cancer-fighting immune cells will be injected into the body
• radiation therapy, which uses external beam radiation to kill cancer cells
• targeted therapy, which uses medications to control the spread of melanoma skin cancer
• chemotherapy for cancer that has spread or is palliative

while current therapies continue to improve, a new treatment option was recently approved by the fda for cases of melanoma that don’t respond to other therapies. it’s known as til therapy, which stands for tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes. lymphocytes are white blood cells that work as part of the immune system to keep the body free from infection and disease.