My colleagues and I have studied trends in melanoma in situ. If Jim had waited any longer before seeing the doctor, it could have been much worse.

The earliest form of melanoma (considered stage 0), it is the easiest to treat and almost always curable. It was melanoma in situ: The tumor had not invaded beyond the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. Just 29 years old, he was shocked when tests showed he had melanoma, a cancer that arises in the skin’s pigment-producing cells. When it continued to grow, Jim became worried and visited a dermatologist. At first glance, it looked like a new freckle or mole. It was dark brown, about the size of a pencil eraser, and it had an irregular shape. When Jim’s mother noticed a spot on his cheek she’d never seen before, she pointed it out to him. He even frequented tanning salons during the winter to keep it going. To achieve this look, he purposely burned during his first intense sun exposure in spring, thinking that would be a good start on maintaining a tan through the summer. A year-round athlete, he also spent many summers landscaping, and he was proud of his golden bronze tan. Growing up in Texas, Jim was no stranger to sun exposure. WILLIAM HIGGINS II, MD, MBE, and DAVID LEFFELL, MD Here’s why this is bad news and good news, and what everyone (not just the men) needs to know to stay ahead of it.īy H. Our authors’ recent research shows that melanoma in situ, the earliest form of the disease, is on the rise, especially among young men.

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