Protecting your skin and checking it for changes are keys to preventing melanoma or catching one in an early, treatable stage.

Exposure to ultraviolet rays produced by the sun increases your risk of melanoma. Here’s how to protect your skin from the sun’s ultraviolet rays:

• Cover your skin with clothing, including a shirt and a hat with a broad brim.
• When outside, try to sit in shady areas.
• Avoid exposing your skin to the sun between 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. standard time or 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daylight saving time.
• Use broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB) sunscreens with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or more on skin that will be exposed to the sun.
• Wear sunglasses with 99% or 100% UV absorption to protect your eyes.
• Don't use sun lamps or tanning booths.

Check your skin regularly and have someone help you check areas you can’t see (your back and buttocks, scalp, underneath the breasts of women, the backs of the legs). If you notice a new, changing or an irregular-looking mole (eg, large, irregular shape with a border that is not smooth and even, more than one color, irregular texture), show it to a doctor experienced in recognizing skin cancers, such as a dermatologist. Your doctor may monitor the mole or recommend removing it. In almost all cases, if you are given the choice to watch or remove a mole, you should have it removed. It can’t transform into a cancerous growth if it is gone.

If you have a condition called dysplastic nevus syndrome, you should have your dermatologist check your skin regularly for atypical moles.