ABCD RULE FOR CHECKING MOLES AND PIGMENTED LESIONS


Suspicious lesions have the following characteristics:

Asymmetry:  One half of the mole does not look like the other

Borders:  Suspicious moles have irregular or notched borders

Color:  Color is not uniform; different shades of tan, black, white or blue in the same mole

Diameter:  Larger than a pencil eraser, roughly 6 mm or ¼ inch

Other signs to watch for: oozing and bleeding, recent change in size or color, increase in height or bump.  Another indicator of a potentially dangerous lesion is the so-called “ugly duckling” sign, which means that it sticks out from the rest of your moles.  Dr. Fazekas can explain to you the various forms of ski cancers and how they present (basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and the deadliest form—malignant melanoma) but generally a non-healing or bleeding, scabbing sore, along with a changing or suspicious mole should be investigated by a dermatologist.  Whether you spent summers in the sun or tanning, it is advised to have your skin examined by a dermatologist once a year.  You can also learn to perform monthly self-exams with 2 mirrors to lower your chances of developing a life-threatening skin cancer.