Experts emphasize that certain skin changes could indicate melanoma without people realizing it.

Melanoma blemishes are usually irregular in shape and appear in uneven patches of brown or black.

Moffitt Cancer Center advises that melanoma moles tend to differ in shape, size, or color from normal moles and require medical evaluation. They often have an uneven distribution of tan, brown, or black shades and may change over time.

Unfortunately, melanoma cases are rising in the U.S., with the disease claiming up to 8,000 lives each year. It is particularly dangerous because it can spread rapidly through the body without noticeable symptoms.

Once melanoma spreads to the brain, symptoms can include headaches, seizures, vision disturbances, paralysis on one side of the body, nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph nodes, weakness, and fatigue, as outlined by Moffitt Cancer Center.

Alarmingly, developing melanoma may also increase the risk of unrelated cancers, such as breast, kidney, and thyroid cancer.

Treatment options for melanoma that has reached the brain include chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and targeted therapies.

AIM at Melanoma states:

“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 typically only an option for patients with three or fewer brain tumors. Those with multiple tumors or growths in critical areas of the brain may not be candidates for surgical treatment.