January is coming to an end and some of you may already be thinking ahead to Spring Break after these icy winter days. Did you know that each year 300-400 children will be diagnosed with melanoma? Melanoma is skin cancer and can be particularly hard to treat if it has spread. Unfortunately, we are seeing a rapid rise in melanoma in children likely due to our love affair with the sun and the quest for the perfect golden glow. The rate of rise was 2.8% per year from 1981 to 2001 and we are seeing more “conventional melanoma” in kids now which points to increasing UV exposure as the culprit rather than other very rare moles that can undergo cancerous changes on their own.
Melanomas in adults tend to turn darker, but in children they often are whitish, yellowish or pink. The most common symptoms of melanoma in children include:
• A bump on the skin that itches or bleeds
• A wart-like spot that is typically yellowish, whitish, or pink
• A lesion on the skin, which may not be black or darkly pigmented as in adults
• Odd-looking moles, especially larger ones
• Moles that look different than a child’s other moles
As with adults, children are most at risk for melanoma if they have:
• Fair skin
• A history of many blistering sunburns
• Several large or many small moles
• A family history of unusual moles
• A family history of melanoma
This is one type of pediatric cancer where we can decrease the risk, so what can you do to protect your children?
1. Be a good role model and don’t expose yourself to the sun without protection. Always wear at least SPF30
2. Make your children* wear sunscreen with at least an SPF30 and re-apply often (I’m fair and reapply at least every hour).
3. Don’t allow your children to use tanning beds. Ever. They are awful.
*many people ask about children under 6 months of age. The best answer is keep them out of the sun. The real answer is sometimes you can’t help it and in my opinion, if the option is sunburning a baby or putting some sunscreen on them, I opt for the sunscreen.#
