3 Easy Steps to Prevent Melanoma
There are basically three easy and simple steps to prevent melanoma no matter what your age:

Cover Up
 • Wearing long sleeves, pants, and a broad-rimmed will provide protection from sun and UV light, which cause the majority of skin cancer.

 • Seek shade during the hours that sun is most intense (10 am – 4 pm).

 • Avoid sun even if you are wearing sunscreen. Sunscreen should not be an excuse to get more sun.

Apply Protection
 • Apply a generous coat of sunscreen with at least SPF 30 daily to all exposed areas.

 • Get your vitamin D from a vitamin supplement rather than from sun exposure.

Inspect Skin Often
 • Check your skin every month. Look for the following suspicious features in your moles:

o A – Asymmetry. One side of the mole does not look like the other side.
o B – Border. Moles with jagged, irregular, or indistinct borders.
o C – Color, multiple. Moles with many colors, such as brown, tan, red, white, blue, pink and black.
o D – Diameter or Different. Moles with a diameter larger than a pencil eraser (6 mm) or moles that appear different than all other moles.
o E – Evolution. Moles that have changed: larger, darker, lighter, bleeding, pain, new moles, or moles that appear to be going away on their own.

 • If you notice ABCDE features in your moles, promptly make an appointment to see your dermatologist.

 • Get at least a yearly full-body skin examination by a dermatologist. If you have evidence of sun damage, pre-cancerous lesions, abnormal moles, or a history of skin cancer, you may need more frequent visits. Don't forget to have family members screened for skin cancer as well.

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