While the rates of many cancer types are projected to continue to decrease, melanoma remains a notable outlier. In fact, Merck Canada says the number of Canadians receiving a diagnosis of melanoma each year continues to rise, more than tripling in the past 30 years.

That’s why Merck Canada launched their “Practice Skintimacy” campaign, which aims to help Canadians understand how to better protect themselves and their loved ones from melanoma and empower meaningful action in support of healthy skin habits. Dr. Maxwell Sauder, onco-dermatologist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and assistant professor at the University of Toronto highlighted a few reasons as to why Merck launched the initiative, which is going into its second year.

“The single most important factor is that melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. It was estimated that this year, around 10,000 Canadians are diagnosed with melanoma, and of that, around 1,200 Canadians will die from the disease,” he said. Thankfully, melanoma is relatively rare, but it can also have some of the most serious implications for it, Sauder noted. Unlike other cancers, where several methods and technological tools are needed to identify and detect cancer, skin cancer can be seen by the human eye.

“The best treatment developed melanoma is early detection of melanoma because when we detect it early, the cure rates are almost 100 per cent. It almost never gives us any significant problems. It’s when we wait or it spreads, that’s when we run into problems which can result ultimately, in death and mortality.

Sauder explains that melanoma is a cancer of pigment producing cells and comes mainly from moles on the skin. Most moles “are good actors” because of the ABCDE signs that come with melanoma.

Accordingly, the A sign is for asymmetry. If one was to “cut” the mole in half, and it appears different on either side, this would be one sign to seek to help. B is for irregular border, Sauder explained. “You should have a nice smooth border. You do not want to see jagged edges or finger like projections coming out.” C is for colour. Typically, most moles are in the range of light to medium to even dark brown, Sauder noted. If the mole is lighter in the middle or darker on the outside, that’s okay. But should the mole show three or more colours, or black, “that’s something to get assessed,” Sauder said.

Fourth – or D – stands for diameter, Sauder highlighted. A mole that appears larger than a pencil eraser should be cared for. Finally, E, the most important point, Sauder says stands for evolution. “Evolution” classifies as anything that changes or evolves dramatically, like size, shape or colour; or symptoms like itching, burning and bleeding.

“Because this is present on the skin, and because it’s such a visual cancer, almost two thirds of melanomas are not actually identified by [doctors] initially,” Sauder noted. “It’s identified by the person or someone that’s close to them. That’s why this whole concept of “Practice Skintimacy” really is an important one. Because it’s important to get into a habit of regular self-examinations.”

Sauder recommends to those who are on the higher risk categories to examine themselves once a month, ideally on the day of their birthday and to either do it themselves or with someone close, like a relative or close friend.

While melanoma tends to happen on sun exposed sites, it can happen anywhere on the body, Sauder noted. Women can get melanoma on their backs or on their legs, particular around the calve area while men can get it on their back, neck, and their head. There are also certain modifiable risk factors that Canadians can take, as individuals, to help minimize and reduce the risk of melanoma, he added.

The single most important one, he says, is ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure from the sun, or from artificial sources like tanning beds. “Even the use of a tanning bed once increases an individual’s risk of melanoma just by single use.”

The second factor is practicing safe sun protection. Wearing hats, wearing sun protective clothing, utilizing shade structures, wearing sunscreens, reapplying sunscreens liberally and frequently, particularly when one is involved in rigorous physical activity, can dramatically reduce the incidence of skin cancer.

“Some people tell me they check their skin every single day. That’s actually too much,” Sauder said. “Because you won’t detect changes in your skin if you’re checking it every day. You’ll see this slow change over time, and you won’t detect that change. That’s why the maximum frequency that you should check yourself is once a month.”