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Comment by sys32768 | Hacker News Reader

~20 years ago a young father on my block had a mole on his neck that ended up being a fatal melanoma. He otherwise looked so healthy.

He said it might have been from sunburns when he was in the Boy Scouts.

I will never forget the look on his face when I spoke with him, a look of bewilderment wrestling with anger.

His wife teetered with grief and confusion, trying her best to be strong while trying to bear the sickening reality that nobody could have prepared their family for.

I always get an annual dermatology checkup now because of him.

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Please explain to someone that has never seen a melanoma - this person had a single 'mole-like' mark on his neck (presumably small?), and that alone killed him? or was it 'mole-like' and eventually got so big that it killed him?

Having a hard time understanding how something so small, and so easily removed can kill someone.

I have so many 'moles' on me, I wouldn't even know what to look for.

I just go to a dermatologist once a year who scans my moles. Totally worth it.

Just like many cancers, the cancerous cells spread and destroy vital organs.

Yes they can be removed, but if the cancer has already spread then it may be too late.

so it can be visually very small, and still kill you?

Just like an iceberg I guess...

my late dentist went skiing, got a nasty cough, died 2 weeks later, lung cancer. no symptoms before. just a seemingly fit and healthy normal weight 30-something guy with a wife and kids. (maybe he inhaled too much enamel dust or who knows, the point is that humans are very bad at noticing these things on themselves/others.)

The concept you want to understand is metastasis. When a cancer metastasizes, it sends out cells that become cancers elsewhere in your body. One day just just have a little melanoma, the next day it sounds out cells that become cancers in other organs: your lungs, your liver, etc.

Some skin cancers, like basal cell carcinoma, never metastasize. Melanoma is one that will.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metastasis

Think of metastasis as, that particular cancer evolving to a level where it can successfully break through the "impedance mismatch" of colonizing other tissue.

At that point it's more like multiple cancers at the same time, with the very cruel consequences of exactly how drastic that sounds :/

There are plenty of sources online to tell you what to look for, but my dermatologist sticks with "pink and brown makes you frown". Irregularly shaped with strange combination of pink and brown is a flag to watch out for.

I've had a couple basal cells (the way less scary one) and the easiest way to identify those is just look for a pearly pimple that won't go away.

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