We’re often told to look out for changing moles when it comes to skin cancer, but it’s not always a brown spot you need to be aware of.
A dermatologist has gone viral on TikTok after showing one rare symptom that could be melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.
Rare skin cancer symptom
“I’m about to show a picture of melanoma that would shock people because most would not recognise it as cancer,” Mark Strom said.
He explained that most people think of skin cancer as a new mole on the skin or a changing black or brown spot, but there is another type which has no pigment.
The dermatologist showed a small red patch on a woman’s arm which is melanoma and requires a huge incision to be removed.
These are called Amelanotic melanomas, which lack melanin, the dark pigment that gives most moles and melanomas their color, Cancer Research explains.
Instead, of being dark, these melanomas can be clear, white or skin-colored, sometimes with a slight pink, purple or red tint.
Amelanotic melanomas can appear flat or raised and will often look like a normal scar or other less serious forms of skin cancer.
“I always tell my patients to keep an eye out for any new spots on the skin, not just the ones that are black or brown,” Strom urged.
How to spot melanoma
However, melanomas with no color are rare. Often, the first sign is a change in the size, shape, color, or feel of a mole. Most melanomas have a black or black-blue area and may appear as new mole or an old one that has changed.
MedlinePlus recommends using the “ABCDE” method to watch out for melanoma:
- Asymmetry: The shape of one half does not match the other
- Border: The edges are ragged, blurred or irregular
- Color: The color is uneven and may include shades of black, brown and tan
- Diameter: There is a change in size, usually an increase
- Evolving: The mole has changed over the past few weeks or months
When melanoma is diagnosed, surgery is always the first treatment to remove the skin cancer. Other treatments include chemotherapy, radiation, biologic, and targeted therapies.
Dr. Mark Strom (MD, FAAD) is a board-certified Dermatologist in New York who currently works for the Mount Sinai Doctors Medical Group, treating patients in Williamsburg and NoHo. He obtained his medical degree from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and dermatology residency from Columbia University Medical Center.
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