What are the risk factors for melanoma skin cancer?

What are the risk factors for melanoma skin cancer? 

A risk factor is anything that affects your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Some risk factors, like smoking and excess sun exposure, can be changed. Others, like a person’s age or family history, can’t be changed.

But having a risk factor, or even many risk factors, does not mean that you will get the disease. And some people who get the disease may have few or no known risk factors.
Several risk factors can make a person more likely to develop melanoma.

Ultraviolet (UV) light exposure  

Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays is a major risk factor for most melanomas. Sunlight is the main source of UV rays. Tanning beds and sun lamps are also sources of UV rays.
While UV rays make up only a very small portion of the sun’s rays, they are the main cause of the damaging effects of the sun on the skin. UV rays damage the DNA of skin cells. Skin cancers begin when this damage affects the DNA of genes that control skin cell growth.  

The nature of the UV exposure may play a role in melanoma development. For example, the development of melanoma on the trunk (chest and back) and legs has been linked to frequent sunburns (especially in childhood). This might also have something to do with the fact that these areas are not constantly exposed to UV light. Some experts think that melanomas that start in these areas are different from those on the face, neck, and arms, where the sun exposure is more constant. And different from either of these are melanomas that develop on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, under the nails, or on internal surfaces such as the mouth and vagina, where there has been little or no sun exposure.

To learn more about the effects of UV rays on the skin and what you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones, see Skin Cancer Prevention and Early Detection.

Moles 

A mole (also known as a nevus) is a benign (non-cancerous) pigmented tumor. Babies are not usually born with moles; they often begin to appear in children and young adults. Most moles will never cause any problems, but a person who has many moles is more likely to develop melanoma.
Atypical moles (dysplastic nevi): These moles look a little like normal moles but also have some features of melanoma. They are often larger than other moles and have an abnormal shape or color. (See the section “Signs and symptoms of melanoma skin cancer” for descriptions of how moles and melanomas look.) They can appear on skin that is exposed to the sun as well as skin that is usually covered, such as on the buttocks or scalp.

Dysplastic nevi often run in families. A small number of dysplastic nevi may develop into melanomas. But most dysplastic nevi never become cancer, and many melanomas seem to arise without a pre-existing dysplastic nevus.

Dysplastic nevus syndrome (also known as familial atypical multiple mole melanoma syndrome, or FAMMM): People with this inherited condition have many dysplastic nevi and at least one close relative who has had melanoma.

People with this condition have a very high lifetime risk of developing melanoma, so they need to have very thorough, regular skin exams by a dermatologist (a doctor who
specializes in skin problems). In some cases, full body photos are taken to help the doctor recognize if moles are changing and growing. Many doctors recommend that these patients be taught to do monthly skin self-exams as well.

Congenital melanocytic nevi: Moles present at birth are called congenital melanocytic nevi. The lifetime risk of melanoma developing in congenital melanocytic nevi is estimated to be between 0 and 10%, depending on the size of the nevus. People with very large congenital nevi have a greater risk, while the risk is less for those with small nevi. For example, the risk for melanoma in congenital nevi smaller than the palm of your hand is very low, while those that cover large portions of back and buttocks (“bathing trunk nevi”) have significantly higher risks.

Congenital nevi are sometimes removed by surgery so that they don’t have a chance to become cancer. Whether doctors advise removing a congenital nevus depends on several factors including its size, location, and color. Many doctors recommend that congenital nevi that are not removed should be examined regularly by a dermatologist and that the patient should be taught how to do monthly skin self-exams.

Again, the chance of any single mole turning into cancer is very low. However, anyone with lots of irregular or large moles has an increased risk for melanoma.

Fair skin, freckling, and light hair  

The risk of melanoma is much higher for whites than for African Americans. Whites with red or blond hair, blue or green eyes, or fair skin that freckles or burns easily are at increased risk.
Family history of melanoma

Your risk of melanoma is greater if one or more first-degree relatives (parent, brother, sister, or child) has had melanoma. Around 10% of all people with melanoma have a family history of the disease.
The increased risk might be because of a shared family lifestyle of frequent sun exposure, a family tendency to have fair skin, certain gene changes (mutations) that run in a family, or a combination of factors.

Most experts do not recommend that people with a family history of melanoma have genetic testing to look for mutations, as it’s not yet clear how helpful this is. Rather, experts advise that they do the following:

• Have regular skin exams by a dermatologist
• Thoroughly examine their own skin once a month
• Be particularly careful about sun protection and avoiding artificial UV rays (such as those from tanning booths)

(For more information on genetic testing, see “Can melanoma skin cancer be prevented?”)
Personal history of melanoma or other skin cancers

A person who has already had melanoma has a higher risk of getting melanoma again. About 5% of people with melanoma will develop a second one at some point. People who have had basal or squamous cell skin cancers are also at increased risk of getting melanoma.
Weakened immune system

A person’s immune system helps fight cancers of the skin and other organs. People with weakened immune systems (from certain diseases or medical treatments) are more likely to develop many types of skin cancer, including melanoma.

For example, people who get organ transplants are usually given medicines that weaken their immune system to help prevent them from rejecting the new organ. This increases their risk of developing melanoma.

People infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, often have weakened immune systems and are also at increased risk for melanoma.

Older age  

Melanoma is more likely to occur in older people, but it is also found in younger people. In fact, melanoma is one of the most common cancers in people younger than 30 (especially younger women). Melanoma that runs in families may occur at a younger age.

Male gender 

In the United States, men have a higher rate of melanoma than women, although this varies by age. Before age 45, the risk is higher for women; after age 45 the risk is higher in men.
Xeroderma pigmentosum

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a rare, inherited condition that affects skin cells’ ability to repair damage to their DNA. People with XP have a high risk of developing melanoma and other skin cancers when they are young, especially on sun-exposed areas of their skin.

• What is cancer?

• What is melanoma skin cancer?  

• Melanoma skin cancers 

• What are the key statistics about melanoma skin cancer?

What are the key statistics about melanoma skin cancer?

What are the key statistics about melanoma skin cancer?  

Cancer of the skin is by far the most common of all cancers. Melanoma accounts for less than 2% of skin cancer cases but causes a large majority of skin cancer deaths.

Here are the American Cancer Society’s estimates for melanoma in the United States for 2015:

• About 73,870 new melanomas will be diagnosed (about 42,670 in men and 31,200 in women).

• About 9,940 people are expected to die of melanoma (about 6,640 men and 3,300 women).

The rates of melanoma have been rising for at least 30 years.

Melanoma is more than 20 times more common in whites than in African Americans. Overall, the lifetime risk of getting melanoma is about 2.4% (1 in 40) for whites, 0.1% (1 in 1,000) for blacks, and 0.5% (1 in 200) for Hispanics. The risk for each person can be affected by a number of different factors, which are described in the section “What are the risk factors for melanoma skin cancer?”
The risk of melanoma increases as people age. The average age at the time it is found is 62. But melanoma is not uncommon even among those younger than 30. In fact, it is one of the most common cancers in young adults (especially young women).

For melanoma survival statistics, see the section “What are the survival rates for melanoma skin cancer by stage?”

Melanoma skin cancers

Melanoma skin cancers 

Melanoma is a cancer that begins in the melanocytes. Other names for this cancer include malignant melanoma and cutaneous melanoma. Most melanoma cells still make melanin, so melanoma tumors are usually brown or black. But some melanomas do not make melanin and can appear pink, tan, or even white.

Melanomas can develop anywhere on the skin, but they are more likely to start on the trunk (chest and back) in men and on the legs in women. The neck and face are other common sites.
Having darkly pigmented skin lowers your risk of melanoma at these more common sites, but anyone can develop this cancer on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and under the nails. Melanomas in these areas account for more than half of all melanomas in African Americans but fewer than 1 in 10 melanomas in whites.

Melanomas can also form in other parts of your body such as the eyes, mouth, genitals, and anal area, but these are much less common than melanoma of the skin.
Melanoma is much less common than basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers, but it is far more dangerous. Like basal cell and squamous cell cancers, melanoma is almost always curable in its early stages. But it is much more likely than basal or squamous cell cancer to spread to other parts of the body if not caught early.

Other skin cancers 

Skin cancers that are not melanomas are sometimes grouped as non-melanoma skin cancers because they develop from skin cells other than melanocytes. They tend to behave very differently from melanomas and are often treated with different methods.

Basal and squamous cell skin cancers 

Most non-melanoma skin cancers are basal cell or squamous cell cancers. They are by far the most common skin cancers, and actually are more common than any other form of cancer. Because they rarely spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body, basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers are usually less concerning and are treated differently from melanoma. These cancers are discussed in Skin Cancer: Basal and Squamous Cell.

Less common skin cancers 

Other types of non-melanoma skin cancer are much less common than basal and squamous cell cancers and are treated differently. They include:

• Merkel cell carcinoma
• Kaposi sarcoma
• Cutaneous (skin) lymphoma

• Skin adnexal tumors (tumors that start in hair follicles or skin glands)
• Various types of sarcomas

Together, these types account for less than 1% of all skin cancers.

What is melanoma skin cancer?

What is melanoma skin cancer?

Melanoma is a cancer that starts in a certain type of skin cell. To understand melanoma, it helps to know about the normal structure and function of the skin.
Normal skin

The skin is the largest organ in your body. It does many different things, such as:

• Covering the internal organs and helping protect them from injury
• Serving as a barrier to germs such as bacteria
• Preventing the loss of too much water and other fluids
• Helping control body temperature
• Protecting the rest of the body from ultraviolet (UV) rays
• Helping the body make vitamin D
The skin has 3 layers: the epidermis, the dermis, and the subcutis (see picture).

Epidermis 

This top layer of skin is very thin, averaging only about 1/100 of an inch thick. It protects the deeper layers of skin and the organs of the body from the environment. 

The main types of cells in the epidermis include: 

• Squamous cells: These are flat cells in the outer part of the epidermis that are constantly shed as new ones form.  

• Basal cells: These cells are in the lower part of the epidermis, called the basal cell layer. These cells constantly divide to form new cells to replace the squamous cells that wear off the skin’s surface. As these cells move up in the epidermis, they get flatter, eventually becoming squamous cells.  

• Melanocytes: These are the cells that can become melanoma. They make a brown pigment called melanin, which gives the skin its tan or brown color. Melanin protects the deeper layers of the skin from some of the harmful effects of the sun. For most people, when skin is exposed to the sun, melanocytes make more of the pigment, causing the skin to tan or darken.   

The epidermis is separated from the deeper layers of skin by the basement membrane. When a skin cancer becomes more advanced, it generally grows through this barrier and into the deeper layers. 

Dermis 

This middle layer of the skin is much thicker than the epidermis. It contains hair follicles, sweat glands, blood vessels, and nerves that are held in place by a protein called collagen, which gives the skin its elasticity and strength. 

Subcutis 

The deepest layer of the skin (the subcutis) and the lowest part of the dermis form a network of collagen and fat cells. The subcutis helps the body conserve heat and has a shock-absorbing effect that helps protect the body’s organs from injury. 

Benign skin tumors 

Many types of benign (non-cancerous) tumors can develop from different types of skin cells.

Benign tumors that start in melanocytes  

A mole (nevus) is a benign skin tumor that develops from melanocytes. Almost everyone has some moles. Nearly all moles (nevi) are harmless, but having some types can raise your risk of melanoma. See the section “What are the risk factors for melanoma skin cancer?” for more information about moles. 

A Spitz nevus is a kind of mole that sometimes looks like melanoma. It is more common in children and teens, but it can also be seen in adults. These tumors are generally benign and don’t spread. But sometimes doctors have trouble telling Spitz nevi from true melanomas, even when looking at them under a microscope. Therefore, they are often removed, just to be safe. 

Benign tumors that develop from other types of skin cells   

• Seborrheic keratoses: Tan, brown, or black raised spots with a “waxy” texture 

• Hemangiomas: Benign blood vessel growths, often called strawberry spots 

• Lipomas: Soft growths made up of fat cells 

• Warts: Rough-surfaced growths caused by some types of human papilloma virus (HPV) 

Most of these tumors rarely, if ever, turn into cancers. There are many other kinds of benign skin tumors, but most are not very common. 

What is cancer?

What is cancer? 

The body is made up of trillions of living cells. Normal body cells grow, divide into new cells, and die in an orderly way. During the early years of a person’s life, normal cells divide faster to allow the person to grow. Once a person becomes an adult, most cells divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells or to repair injuries.

Cancer begins when cells in a part of the body start to grow out of control. There are many kinds of cancer, but they all start because of out-of-control growth of abnormal cells.
Cancer cell growth is different from normal cell growth. Instead of dying, cancer cells continue to grow and form new, abnormal cells. In most cases the cancer cells form a tumor. Cancer cells can also invade (grow into) other tissues, something that normal cells can’t do. Growing out of control and invading other tissues is what makes a cell a cancer cell.

Cells become cancer cells because of damage to DNA. DNA is in every cell and directs all its actions. In a normal cell, when DNA is damaged the cell either repairs the damage or the cell dies. In cancer cells, the damaged DNA is not repaired, but the cell doesn’t die like it should. Instead, this cell goes on making new cells that the body does not need. These new cells will all have the same damaged DNA as the first abnormal cell does.

People can inherit damaged DNA, but most often the DNA damage is caused by mistakes that happen while the normal cell is reproducing or by something in our environment. Sometimes the cause of the DNA damage is something obvious, like cigarette smoking or ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. But often no clear cause is found.

Cancer cells often travel to other parts of the body, where they begin to grow and form new tumors. This process is called metastasis. It happens when the cancer cells get into the bloodstream or lymph vessels of our body.

No matter where a cancer may spread, it is named (and treated) based on the place where it started. For example, prostate cancer that has spread to the bones is still prostate cancer, not bone cancer.

Different types of cancer can behave very differently. They grow at different rates and respond to different treatments. That is why people with cancer need treatment that is aimed at their particular kind of cancer.

Not all tumors are cancerous. Tumors that aren’t cancer are called benign. Benign tumors can cause problems – they can grow very large and press on healthy organs and tissues. But they can’t grow into (invade) other tissues. Because they can’t invade, they also can’t spread to other parts of the body (metastasize). These tumors are almost never life threatening.

Eating Out

Eating Out

Eating out is a big dieting challenge.  It may sound hard to be able to control what you eat when dining out but it’s not! Always remember that you are the customer and you are in charge! You should be able to eat wat you want. Eating healthy while dining out is all about one word: 

preparation. Avoid “all-you-can-eat” places. Choose a restaurant with a varied menu. Any restaurant with a mascot is probably bad news for your diet. Order water right away and start sipping. Most times  when we feel hungry we are actually de- hydrated. 

Try to order first. Listening to everyone else’s choices can be tempting. Ask about the size of the dish. This could be im- portant information when watching calories. Watch out for cheese, gravies and special sauces. Ask for your food not to be prepared with butter, cream sauces or oil. Order as many vegetable options as possible. Steamed, stewed or boiled veggies are best, with little or no added butter or oil.

Try to never dine out without at least one veg- etable on your plate!

Eat your lowest calorie items first. Vegetables are always a good place to start. Potato options are good too. Stick with baked, boiled or roasted potatoes instead of fried pota- toes. Concentrate on the conversation, not your food. If you’re talking, it takes longer to eat and helps you feel full before stuffing yourself. Don’t pick at your food after you’ve decided that you’re done. Eat the amount you would eat at home.

Chew some gum or have a mint after you’re done. You can never go wrong with fruit as a dessert, as long as it’s not covered in syrup or whipped cream. Sorbet or frozen yogurt are great alternatives to ice cream, but watch the sugar content.

Healthy Eating Tips & Tricks-1

Healthy Eating Tips & Tricks-2

Good Carbs / Bad Carbs

Salt and Spices

Meat and Dairy Products

Healthy Snack Ideas

Super foods

Healthy Brain Foods

Brain Foods

Healthy Brain Foods

Did you know that you can increase your mental agility and improve your memory by choosing the right foods? Blueberries serve a wide range of functions for improving mental function. Regular blueberry consumption has been shown to improve mem- ory function. Avocados may be rich in fat but it’s a healthy fat that promotes blood flow, keeping your mind functioning at its peak. Avocados have also been shown to reduce blood pressure. Broccoli has been shown to improve memory function as well as slow the aging process. 

This means a broccoli-rich diet will keep you young 

and sharp. The abundance of vitamin K in spinach contrib- utes greatly to a healthy nervous system and brain function. Almonds contain phenylalanine, a brain-boosting chemical that improves our cognitive functions. Brussels sprouts are a good source for tryptophan and essential omega fatty acids critical to healthy brain functioning. 

Here’s a list with 15 highly effective brain foods that improve memory, mood, concentration, and overall clarity.

Apple

 Brussel Sprouts

Ginger Root

Pine Nut

Blueberries

Almonds

Broccoli

Avocado

Spinach

               Curry Powder

Cauliflower

Walnuts

Whole Grain