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American Morning
Skin Cancer Warning Signs
Aired August 09, 2001 - 09:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A public memorial service for Maureen Reagan is scheduled for next Saturday, August 18. The oldest daughter of former President Reagan and actress Jane Wyman died yesterday after a five year battle with skin cancer. She was 60. Maureen Reagan is being remembered as a fighter for causes she believed in. She's described as someone who stood by her father despite political disagreements they might have had. She worked to raise awareness for Alzheimer's, the disease that now afflicts the former president.
Maureen Reagan also fought to raise awareness about the disease that would claim her own life, melanoma. It is the deadliest form of skin cancer.
Joining us now from Los Angeles is Maureen Reagan's oncologist, Dr. Donald Morton of the John Wayne Cancer Institute. Doctor, good morning. Thanks for being with us.
DR. DONALD MORTON, JOHN WAYNE CANCER INSTITUTE: Good morning.
KAGAN: Maureen Reagan did try to raise awareness about the disease, so we're going to try to continue to do that even though she passed away yesterday. She was, indeed, the classic prototype for someone who would get skin cancer, was she not, in terms of complexion?
MORTON: That's right. It's the blue-eyed, pale complected person that gets sunburned.
KAGAN: Also, growing up in southern California and all the sun that she probably got during her early life.
MORTON: Absolutely.
KAGAN: And as I understand this, when she was first diagnosed in '96, it started simply as a mole on the back of her thigh?
MORTON: That's correct.
KAGAN: And also as I understand it with melanoma, it could be a mole that was there for a long time but it changes color suddenly.
MORTON: That's right. The change in color, beginning to grow, becoming irregular in shape, those are the signs that tells us that a mole is acting up and it needs to have medical attention. KAGAN: So, 40,000 people this year will be diagnosed with this same disease, is that right?
MORTON: Well, actually, 54,000 are expected this year.
KAGAN: Really?
MORTON: Yes.
KAGAN: That's just in the U.S.?
MORTON: That's just in the U.S.
KAGAN: And that's just melanoma? We're not talking other forms of skin cancer?
MORTON: No. Melanoma is the only form of skin cancer that really can be fatal and so it's the one that we must be concerned about.
KAGAN: What is it about it that makes it so...
MORTON: And it's the most rapid...
KAGAN: ... so deadly?
MORTON: The, melanoma has the capacity to spread widely, first to the regional lymph nodes and then to other parts of the body. And it's this spread to other parts of the body from the primary on the skin that it leads to the fatality.
KAGAN: So if you catch it early, it's very curable. Once it spreads, it's very difficult to fight?
MORTON: You're absolutely right. This is why the, this is one type of cancer that occurs on the surface of the body and patients, the normal individual should be able to see early and detect early and if it's treated early, it's over 90 percent curable.
KAGAN: So in the case with Maureen Reagan, did she not catch it early enough?
MORTON: No. Her tumor was, had just passed the magic level which it has the ability to spread to the lymph nodes. And, you know, unfortunately it's something that melanoma, up until recently, has been a relatively rare form of cancer. But it's...
KAGAN: And yet you're seeing it more and more?
MORTON: Yes. It is the most rapidly increasing cancer in the world today and is obviously very important to come to the public's attention.
KAGAN: And the way her disease progressed, was that typical as well?
MORTON: It's very typical. It was, it went first to the lymph nodes and then from there four years later to other parts of her body.
KAGAN: In memory of Maureen Reagan, the main message, doctor, that you would send out there to all of us?
MORTON: The main message is two. One is do not get sunburned.
KAGAN: Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen.
MORTON: Sunscreen, and avoid the sun in the middle part of the day during this intense sun exposure. If you're blue-eyed, pale complected, an indoor worker, don't do sun splurging -- that is, go to Hawaii or the Caribbean, lay in the sun for a week and get severely sunburned. That's No. 1.
And No. 2, know your moles.
KAGAN: Know your moles.
MORTON: We have what we call the ABCs of melanoma. Look for moles that are A, symmetrical, meaning that they're not perfectly round, that have irregular borders, that have irregularity in color. They're not uniform in color. They're -- they may be tan and brown or brown and black or tan, brown and black. Those are the danger signs.
KAGAN: We're going to avoid the sun and we're going to know our moles and check with our dermatologist.
Dr. Donald Morton, thank you for joining us this morning, sir. I know it's early out there. Appreciate your time. Thank you so much.
MORTON: Thank you.
KAGAN: Thank you so much.
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