DAVID J. LEFFELL, MD: Melanoma is a skin cancer that originates in the pigment-producing cell that exists in the top layer of the skin. It's a cancer that is potentially lethal. But the good news is that if identified early, it can be treated in a simple office procedure, and the cure rate is extremely high.
MARTY MOSS-COANE: In just a second or two, we'll be putting up some pictures so that our audience can really see what it is that melanoma looks like. I think it's still important for some other words for the audience to be familiar with melanoma compared to what other kinds of skin cancer.
DAVID J. LEFFELL, MD: There are really two additional types of skin cancer; basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer. Together, these are actually the most common types of skin cancer, and the ones that are most likely due to exposure to the sun. Melanoma can result from sun exposure as well, but there are certainly melanomas that develop where the sun doesn't shine. So I think in order to better understand skin cancer, it might make sense to take a look at some examples of each of these forms of skin cancer.
MARTY MOSS-COANE: Let's do that, and then we can talk about it as we look at some of the pictures, which we will be putting up on the screen in just a second.
Why don't you describe to us what we're looking at right now?
DAVID J. LEFFELL, MD: You're looking at a mole that's about a third of an inch in diameter. It's got irregular pigmentation. It's got different shades of brown and tan in it. Importantly, the edges are irregular. You can see that it's not symmetric. These are all signs of a melanoma while it's in the horizontal, or spreading phase.
