Cancer Check Could Save Your Skin : Health: Warning signs are given as ‘Melanoma Monday’ kicks off detection and prevention month.

When Arno Tanney came to Hollywood from the Catskills in 1946 to further his acting career, he found something in Southern California that he’d never experienced before: nonstop sunshine.

“I took up so much sun because it was free, you understand,” said Tanney, 87, who lives in Santa Monica. “After 10 years in the Borscht Belt, I couldn’t help myself.

“Now,” he said, with a sigh, “I’m paying the price.”

Tanney has basal cell carcinoma--skin cancer. In the past three years, he has had as many as 10 moles removed from his body, seven from his head and neck. Fortunately for him, they were caught well before the cancer spread.

“I told my doctor I’m getting so used to this that I think I can do the cutting at home,” Tanney said, laughing.

For all his dark humor, Tanney knows skin cancer can be deadly serious. This year, 1 million people in the United States will be diagnosed with skin cancer and more than 7,000 people will die. That’s why the American Academy of Dermatology has dubbed Monday “Melanoma Monday” to kick off National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month. Free skin-cancer screenings will be offered all month.

“We want to get everyone in the habit of looking at their skin,” said Dr. Edward Tobinick, assistant clinical professor of medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine and certified in both internal medicine and dermatology.

Tobinick stressed the need for regular medical exams. “People should look at their skin at least once a year,” he said, recommending an easy-to-remember date such as an anniversary or a birthday. Tobinick said the tragedy of the million new cases of skin cancer each year is that almost all of them are curable if caught in the early stages. “The success rate of cure is near 100% if it’s stopped in time. If it’s not, the rate drops to 20%.”

But thousands will die this year from malignant melanomas that spread to other organs, such as the lungs, brain or liver.

“It’s a cancer of the mole, but it will spread through the bloodstream,” Tobinick said. “People wonder how a cancerous mole can kill them. They need to be educated that it can and will kill them if they don’t have it checked out.”

Skin cancer afflicts people of all ages, not just older adults, he said.

“It’s one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in young people,” Tobinick said. “Young people don’t get many cancers, but this is one they get. It strikes in their most productive years. Young mothers and young fathers who would otherwise live a long and happy life die needlessly.”

Experts say the risk factors for skin cancer are simple:

* A history of sunburns as a child.

* A large number of moles on the body.

* Fair skin. People with light complexions, particularly those with red hair or blue eyes, are most vulnerable.

Although people of all races and skin types can get skin cancer, doctors say those of English, Irish and Scottish descent are most susceptible.

“Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world,” Tobinick said.

“They took the fairest population in the world and put them in a place with the highest amounts of sunshine and ultraviolet radiation,” he noted, referring to the British ancestry of many Australians.

Since the free cancer tests began 11 years ago, there have been more than 1 million people screened and more than 7,000 melanomas discovered, according to the American Cancer Society.

All it takes is a quick visual exam by a qualified doctor.

“Every time we look at a patient, it’s an opportunity to save a life,” Tobinick said. “We don’t need to do a chest X-ray or use any drugs. This is one cancer where you can just look at a person and know if there’s a problem.”

There are four things a person should look for, which Tobinick calls the “A, B, C, D criteria.” He recites them in reverse order.

* D is for moles that are larger in diameter than a pencil eraser.

* C is for color. A mole that is more than one color, like different shades of brown or red, white and blue, should be examined. A mole that is a solid shade of brown is not a problem.

* B is for border. If the border of a mole is ragged, or if there is a notch in the border like a pie with a piece cut out, it should be checked immediately.

* A is for asymmetry. If half the mole is different in size than the other half, have it checked.

If skin cancer is found and it has not metastasized, it can be removed in a simple surgical procedure using local anesthesia.

“There’s no radiation and no chemotherapy,” Tobinick said. “You just have the procedure done and go home.”

Tobinick, who says he swims outdoors every day, suggests people take simple precautions when out in the sun.

“I always use sunscreen, and I never try to let myself burn,” he said. “People don’t need to stay completely out of the sun. I don’t want everyone in Southern California to live indoors all year round. Just think about how much sun you can take before you go outside.”

For information on free cancer screenings in May, call the American Cancer Society at (213) 386-6102.