RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - Before sunscreen and public awareness, few people worried about skin cancer.
That was Greg McCaffrey.
In the 60s and 70s, he says he was out in the sun all the time without sunscreen, a hat, or long sleeve shirt.
Just last month during a routine skin check, doctors found a suspicious looking lesion on his shoulder, one he would never see for himself.
“And it came back positive for melanoma,” says McCaffrey. “Well, you know it goes through your mind all kinds of horrible things. And so, it’s you know, did we catch this in time? Has it been there a long time? Did it spread? Did it metastasize? We’ll see where we go from here.”
Turns out, Greg’s cancer was in its earliest and most curable stages.
A visit to the dermatologist every three months for continued skin checks is now on the calendar.
But there is a melanoma out there that can be missed by both doctor and patient.
It’s called an Amelanomic Melanoma, which encompasses 3% to 8% of all melanomas diagnosed.
It’s not dark, rather this skin cancer has no color.
“Meaning it is not brown, it is not dark,” says Dr. Lisa Zaleski-Larsen, a board-certified dermatologist with Nevada Center for Dermatology. “It can appear as pink, red, even a flesh color bump, or even a wound that does not heal.”
Dr. Zaleski-Larsen says Amelanomic Melanoma can be caused by sun exposure. It can be genetic or can just appear on a patient’s skin. But make no mistake, because it has no color does not mean it is no less dangerous.
She says sometimes people come in to see her for other reasons and she will spot this skin cancer. Or they may report they have a wound that just won’t heal.
The cancer can appear at any age. She says no one is immune. This is why she and other dermatologists recommend a yearly skin check. A trained eye can spot Amelanomic Melanoma.
Chances are the average patient cannot.
“They might brush it off thinking that it is normal,” says Dr. Zaleski-Larsen. “So therefore, by the time they come in for an appointment the melanoma tends to be at a further stage and harder to treat at that point.”