Hockey games announce goals with a hard-to-miss flashing red light. At a recent NHL game, a fan used the color for a more important purpose. She tapped on the plexiglass and showed an assistant equipment manager a message on her phone, including these red-lettered words: “cancerous,” “mole” and “doctor.”
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Survival rates of melanoma patients Cory A. Dunnick, MD, notes that melanoma survival rates have improved over the last 10 years due to new therapies for advanced melanoma.
Following are the national five-year melanoma survival rates of various stages of melanoma: Localized (stages 0-II) – 99% survival rate Regional (stage III) – 66% Distant (stage IV) – 27% All stages combined – 93%
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The peculiar in-game message, from a rival team’s supporter, no less, got the attention of the Vancouver Canucks staffer, who followed the 22-year-old woman’s advice and went to a doctor. It turned out the mole on the back of his neck that caught the woman’s eye was stage II melanoma.
The lesion was removed. This month, the equipment manager thanked the Seattle Kraken fan, who happens to be a nursing assistant and aspiring med-school student. The story received national media coverage and spotlighted the health risks posed by moles, particularly misshapen ones.
Below, Cory A. Dunnick, MD, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine Department of Dermatology, shares her expertise on melanoma and other skin cancers and offers advice on how to protect your skin.