Britt Jones
Experts have revealed the signs of skin marks on your skin that could be an underlying deadly condition.
After Teddi Mellencamp, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star was diagnosed with ‘multiple’ brain tumors, it brought attention to a specific condition which can cause horrible consequences if left unchecked.
Mellencamp revealed that she has several malignant masses in her brain after experiencing weeks of 'debilitating' headaches, with doctors believing that they have been growing for the last six months.
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With scars all over her body from 16 previous surgeries, the 43-year-old is believed to have had a different type of cancer spread to her brain and create the tumors.
It was in 2022 that she was diagnosed with stage two melanoma, that can be found in 100,000 people across the US each year.
Melanoma is a skin cancer, which according to the Mayo Clinic, ‘starts in the melanocytes’.
The website states: “Melanocytes are cells that make the pigment that gives skin its color. The pigment is called melanin.
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“Melanoma typically starts on skin that's often exposed to the sun. This includes the skin on the arms, back, face and legs. Melanoma also can form in the eyes. Rarely, it can happen inside the body, such as in the nose or throat.”
According to AIM at Melanoma, ‘more than 60% of all Stage IV melanoma patients will develop brain metastases at some point’, which is a scary statistic.
Experts have warned that there are specific ways your skin can look that might actually signal that you have melanoma without realizing it.
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Firstly, melanoma blemishes are typically irregularly shaped and brown or black colored with uneven patches.
According to Moffitt Cancer Center, melanoma moles are a different shape, size or color than harmless moles and require checking.
They tend to be unevenly colored and with tan, brown, or black shades that change over time.
Sadly, melanoma is on the rise in the US and kills up to 8,000 people every year.
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This disease is deadly as it rapidly spreads throughout the body without detection.
Symptoms of melanoma which has metastasized to the brain can include things such as headaches, seizures, vision problems, paralysis on one side of the body, nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph nodes, weakness, and fatigue, as per the Moffitt Cancer Center.
Shockingly, if you develop skin cancer, you may also be at an increased risk of developing other cancers that are not related to melanoma.
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For example, people with melanoma might be more susceptible to developing cancer in the breast, kidney and thyroid, and others.
Treatment for melanoma which has spread to the brain can include chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and targeted therapy.
As per AIM to Melanoma: “Surgery is a standard treatment for melanoma brain metastases. It is potentially curative for patients whose melanoma is otherwise controlled and who have a limited number of brain metastases.”
However, ‘surgery is reserved for patients with fewer than three metastases’ and ‘patients with many tumors, or tumors in critical areas of the brain, are usually not candidates for surgery’.