How to Spot Cancerous Moles

Throughout the years, moles have been regarded as either ugly and disgraceful or extremely hot and beautiful. However, the important thing is that the moles can become cancerous and thus hazardous to your health.

Fact: Those of us who sunbathe without any sunscreen or rip their moles can get skin cancer. 90 percent of the skin cancer cases are caused by sun exposure.

A mole that poses no threat is flat and its surface is tender.

Those who have many moles on their skin should avoid prolonged sun exposure. The most threatened areas are the chest in men and the legs in women.

Be advised when choosing the sunscreen: it should protect you from the B type rays but also from the A type rays, because the last penetrate the skin deeper.

How does one see the cancerous moles?

  Regular moles are symmetric and the cancerous moles are not, they are rather atypical.

  When you examine a mole, draw an imaginary line across its middle and compare the two halves. If they are not the same, ask for a dermatology consult.

  A mole that poses no threat is flat and tender. Usually, the mole is round or oval and has no more than 6 mm diameter.

  Most moles occur in children and young people. It is unusual for moles to appear after the individual has reached 40.

  Equally dangerous are the mole lesions.  If you have scratched it by accident or you have accidentally torn a mole, see a dermatologist within 2 or 3 days.

The ABCD of the melanoma and spotting the cancer moles

A – Asymmetry

B – Borders: irregular mole borders

C – Color change or different shades in the same atypical mole.

D – Diameter: any mole that exceeds 6 mm in diameter

“An imaginary ailment is worse than a disease.”  ~Yiddish Proverb

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