Question:
What is thought to cause melanoma?
Answer:
No one knows exactly what causes melanoma, but several risk factors
have been identified. One is ultraviolet radiation in general, but
especially from severe sunburn in childhood. Secondly, people with
large or irregularly shaped moles are more likely to get melanoma. It
appears that a tendency toward melanoma could be inherited.
Melanoma lesions do not necessarily manifest themselves in areas that
have EVER had direct sun exposure. In other words, it is imperative to
check parts of the body that have not been directly exposed to the
sun-on the head under a full head of hair, behind the ears, genital
areas, between the toes, etc.
