Melanoma Risk Assessment Tool Analysis

Many people think that is it possible to achieve a “healthy tan,” but this thought has been proven wrong. Overexpose to UV-A and UV-B rays from the sun lead to premature aging of the skin, as well as the possible formation of skin cancer, know as melanoma. An appearance of a tan is actually a stage of burning and damage to the skin. Although a tan may be desirable to many, the fact remains that more people need to be educated on the dangers of the sun’s harmful rays, and the possible health complications of overexposure.

The largest organ of the human body is your skin. It is your body’s first line of defense against infections, injuries, heat, and sunlight. It also helps in controlling the temperature of your body and getting rid of the excess water and salt by sweating it out. Skin cancer is also known as cancer of the sun. Excessive amounts of ultra violet lights affect your skin in negative ways, possibly leading to Melanoma skin cancer. Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer there is and can often times be fatal (McClay).

Unlike other cancers which we can develop, melanoma can often be detected on the skin which allows doctors to treat it at its early stages resulting in less complications and lower death rates to patients, again if left undetected at its early stages this can easily spread to distant areas and distant organs. Once melanoma has spread to other areas of the body which is classified as stage IV it is diagnosed as

Although there are several types of skin cancer, the most aggressive form is melanoma. This cancer of the skin involves mass replication of the pigment producing melanocyte cells, which are located in the epidermis, below the basal layer. There are several factors involved with the onset of melanoma including, exposure to ultraviolet rays, genetic predisposition, numerous nevi (moles), immunosuppression, and environmental exposure to carcinogens.

Approximately 1 in 6 individuals are Hispanic in the United States, and the population is expected to grow to 1 in 4 by 2035 (CDC, 2015). Given that, Hispanics are the biggest minority group in the US (CDC, 2015). The leading cause of death among the Hispanic population is heart disease and cancer responsible for around 2 out of 5 deaths (CDC, 2015). Hispanics have a 50% greater chance of death resulting from diabetes or liver disease than whites (CDC, 2015). Additionally, there are 3 times as more uninsured Hispanics than whites (CDC, 2015). According to the US average, whites are 15 years older than the Latino population, so prevention will greatly benefit the health of the Latino population (CDC, 2015).

1. Mary noticed a large, brown spot on her skin. She has been playing tennis in the sun for several years without sun protection. She reported the discovery to a friend, who told her to apply the ABCD rule to determine whether or not she had malignant melanoma. Her friend told her that if her answer was "no" to the questions that were asked by the ABCD rule, she had nothing to worry about. What is the ABCD rule and should she ignore the spot if her answers are negative?

In this study, the authors used the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment (BCRAT) to collect data from Non-Hispanic white women and Hispanic women of the ages between 35 to 84 years. This study established that Hispanic women had significantly lower mean BCRAT- 5 years and a lifetime breast cancer risk compared with non-Hispanic women. Matthew et al. determined that Hispanic women have a lower risk of developing breast cancer compared to non-Hispanic women. Also, there was a significant difference in the risk of developing breast cancer among different subgroups of Hispanic women. For instance, Mexican or Mexican American have been found to have 2.6% risk while Central and South American have 1% risk. Therefore, it is important to further investigations on heterogeneity in breast cancer risk and risk factors between Hispanic women of different

Evaluation: Pt able to comprehend and read back material containing signs and symptoms of melanoma, pt able to describe the differences of the ABCDE rule.

Surprisingly, the sun-kissed tanned skin is what most younger whiter complexions are eagerly trying to desire; despite the risk of artificial tanning that could cause to a person’s health, but the rate of people using a tanning salon is still rising. In America, there are 30 million white females from ages 16 to 29 years old that are fascinated in indoor tanning (Becirevic, Amel et al, 2017). As the rate of tanning bed users rises the melanoma incident has also increased. Melanoma risk is associated with artificial tanning for a very long period of exposure to the ultraviolet radiation which skin problem can occur later in life. People used artificial tanning as it gives very quick result for a brief period and the fewest number of sessions

There are many health disparities that exist among the Hispanic population. Many of these are chronic conditions that affect the population. Obesity is one of the many examples of conditions that have increased for the Hispanic population. The CDC (2014) states, “The prevalence of obesity among female Mexican American adults during 2007–2010 was larger than the prevalence among female white, non-Hispanic adults during the same years” (p. 1). This is one of the many statistics that show an example of a health disparity in the Hispanic population. Another example of a problem that is prevalent in the Hispanic community is the health promotion and screening rates. The CDC (2014) states, “A smaller percentage of Hispanic adults aged 50-75 years reported being up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening in 2010 than their non-Hispanic adult counterparts”

The submitted records have been reviewed. The member is an adult female with a birth date of 07/01/1987. She has a diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma. Her treating provider, Semyon Zarkhin, MD recommended DecisionDX Melanoma testing, which was performed on 11/23/2015.

Acral Lentiginous Melanoma or ALM is a rare subtype of melanoma that occurs more often in people of color. It accounts for 2 to 3 percent of the all of the world’s cases of melanoma (Bradford). Dr. R. J. Reed in 1976 was the first to describe it as the appearance of dark lesions on the hands and feet. Radial or lentiginous was the main phase of its growth that lasts several years then it changes into a vertical or dermal invasive stage (Bradford). Several universities have released results on tests on ALM but since it is rare it was difficult for the research groups to get solid information because of small sample sizes. Nonetheless, studies by scientists such as Dr. R. J. Reed we able to determine that the survival rate for three years with the melanoma was on average at 11% (Bradford).

This year alone, 5.4 million people have had some form of skin cancer. This is the amount of people who live in Washington, D.C. Skin cancer affects many and melanoma is just one type of skin cancer. Melanoma can be caused by hereditary genes and overexposure to ultraviolet rays.

Melanoma is a serious type of skin cancer, causing up to 75% cancer-related deaths and is usually occurs due to exposure to UV rays of the sun. The chances are increased with sunburn episodes especially during childhood. It developed from the pigment cells known as melanocytes, a layer of cells producing melanin which protects against the damaging rays of the sun. Sometimes, these pigment cells increase in size and become cancerous melanoma. It didn’t show any particular symptoms, however, it is related to the changes associated with moles, gives ‘ABCDE’ warning signs i.e. Asymmetry, irregular Border, uneven Colour, Diameter, evolution.

Melasma is a disorder of pigmentation commonly affects women with darker skin types. The Melasma Area and Severity Index (MASI) is the mostly used for melasma studies and was validated 20 years after it was first reported; however, this validation process eliminated homogeneity as a part of the MASI, resulting in the new modified MASI score (mMASI). Despite the development of the mMASIscore, a global severity score is also needed to determine optimal outcomes in clinical trials in melasma. The melasma severity score (MSS) has been used in large trials as a global score. The MSS has 4 grades of severity (clear, mild, moderate, severe), with clear or mild as ideal outcomes