What To Look for In Your Moles

Knowing the warning signs of skin cancer.

As with any health problems, the sooner skin cancer is detected, the better. By catching the problem early on, you may be able to avoid surgery or more invasive procedures. Talking with our Hicksville and Huntington, NY, dermatologists, Dr. Daniel Sherer and Dr. Todd Coven, will also give you some idea of whether or not you are at an increased risk for developing skin cancer. Of course, even those who don’t have many risk factors can still develop skin cancer during their lifetime.

It’s important to really get to know your skin so when something changes, a new growth suddenly sprouts up, or an old mole starts to look strange that you know it’s time to schedule an evaluation with our dermatologists. Since skin cancer isn’t generally painful, you are more likely to detect its presence through a simple self-exam than you would just by feeling it. This is why regular self-skin exams are so important for everyone to practice:

Examining Your Skin

When you examine your skin, you want to check everywhere on your body, even areas that aren’t exposed to the sun. This includes under your fingernails and toenails, between your toes, and even the soles of your feet.

For hard-to-see spots like your back or scalp, you’ll want to use a handheld mirror or ask a family member to help you.

What to Look For

Understandably, examining your skin every month isn’t very effective if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for. It’s important to note that while everyone has moles on their body, these moles shouldn’t really change much over time. Warning signs of melanoma include:

• The development of a new growth or spot
• A spot that may appear in areas that aren’t exposed to the sun
• A lesion or spot that grows and changes quickly
• A spot that crusts or bleeds
• A red, pink, brown, or black lesion (sometimes they are more than one color)
• A raised, poorly defined or asymmetrical growth

These are all potential signs of a squamous cell or basal cell carcinoma (non-melanoma forms of skin cancer):

• A scaly, dry, or lumpy lesion that is often red or pale in color
• A lesion that is on sun-exposed areas of the skin
• A growth that is red, scaly, or thickens
• A growth that crusts over, ulcerates, or bleeds

Concerned? Give Us a Call

With offices in Huntington and Hicksville, NY, Long Island Medical & Cosmetic Dermatology makes it easy to get the proper skincare screenings that you need. Call us today at (631) 271-2769 for our Huntington location or (516) 433-3200 for our Hicksville location to schedule a screening.