Whether intentional or not we are all getting exposed to sun and its harmful ultraviolet (UV) light on a daily bases.  Accumulative exposure of our skin to the UV light will result in skin cancer.  If caught early these pre-cancerous lesion or moles could easily removed.  There are certain things that one needs to look for in every mole or skin lesion to recognize the malignant changes.  ABCDE criteria was put together to assist in recognizing skin cancers.

A:  Asymmetry – Cancerous cells grow unevenly.  So if a line is drawn through the middle of the mole the two sides will line up and look symmetrical in a benign mole.

B:  Border – Benign moles have well defined borders whereas melanoma lesions feather out into the surrounding skin.

C:  Color – Melanoma and malignant lesions are often multicolored with the exception of all black moles.

D:  Diameter – Majority of benign lesions are smaller than 6 mm.  If it is larger than a pencil eraser (about 1/4 inch or 6mm), it needs to be examined by a doctor.

E:  Evolving –  Watch for the moles that change color, raise up, get itchy or get larger.

At least 2-3 times a year check all your moles, measure or even take pictures of them to document changes.  If any question, doubt or concerns contact your doctor and have the moles evaluated.

Tags: moles, skin cancer

This entry was posted on Monday, December 28th, 2009 at 12:01 pm and is filed under skin care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.