Skin Cancer and Your Feet

The next time you clip your toenails, take a closer look at the rest of your feet. An extra 60 seconds could save your life.

Routine self examinations of your feet are an important way to find skin cancer early, when it's easiest to cure. Half of the people who learn they have melanoma of the foot die within five years because the cancer had already spread throughout their body by the time it was diagnosed.

Nearly 60,000 people will learn they have melanoma this year. It's not known how many of those cases will involve the foot, but more than 8,100 melanoma patients will die, which is approximately one death every hour. If melanoma is detected in its earliest stages, 92 percent of patients are alive after five years.

Unlike many other types of cancer, melanoma strikes people of all age groups, even the young. Whites are 10 times more likely to develop melanoma than blacks. But studies suggest more than half of melanoma cases in blacks involve the foot, where late diagnosis leads to a higher death rate. Routine foot self exams increase the likelihood of noticing suspicious moles, freckles or other spots.

Routine foot exams should evaluate for the following ABCD findings in a mole, freckle or other lesion:

● Asymmetry – Is one half of the lesion different in shape from the other?

● Border – Does the lesion exhibit uneven or ragged borders?

● Color – Is there more than one color noted with the lesion or does the noted colors have an uneven distribution?

● Diameter – Is the lesion wider than a pencil eraser? Does the lesion exhibit signs of ulceration, craters, donut-shaped edges, bleeding or slow healing if the lesion is ulcerated?

If any of these signs are present on the foot, it is important to see a physician right away.

To help prevent melanoma please follow the general pre-cautions listed below:

● Use adequate sunscreen in areas that are unprotected by clothing or shoes. Be sure to apply sunscreen on the soles as well as the tops of feet.

● Wear water shoes or shoes and socks

● Inspect all areas of the feet daily

● If you wear nail polish, remove it occasionally so that you can inspect the skin underneath the toenails.

● Avoid UV radiation during the sun’s peak hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), beginning at birth.

● Wear sunglasses that block 100% of all UV rays, both UVA and UVB.

Remember: Early detection is crucial with malignant melanoma. If you see any of the ABCD signs or if you have discoloration beneath a toenail that is unrelated to trauma be sure to visit your physician as soon as possible or given our office a call for consultation, 440-946-5858.