Mole Removal Answers

That’s a question I hear a lot as most people have no idea whether their moles are normal or are abnormal.  Too often people are too nervous to even face the question because they are afraid of what they might find out.  This is not a wise thing to do though because moles have the potential to develop into a form of skin cancer called melanoma if the early warning signs are not detected and acted upon.

Back to the question, “Is my mole normal?”  You basically want to look at the size, colour and shape of your mole.  The rule of melanoma detection is a great way to determine whether your moles are normal or not. It has been simplified into the handy little acronym ABCD.

• Asymmetry
• Border irregularity
• Colour variation
• Diameter

So what does all that mean?  Let’s find out!

Asymmetry

Normally a mole will grow in a symmetrical fashion, in other words one half of the mole will look like the other half.  In an asymmetrical mole the halves will look different.  This is because one half of the mole is growing quicker than the other.  If your mole is asymmetric you should see your doctor and start to discuss what is entailed when removing moles.

Border irregularity

Typically the edges of a normal mole are well defined and sharp.  If your moles edges are notched, blurred, irregular or notched you should see your doctor and ask him about removal of moles.

Colour variation

A normal mole will generally have a uniform or consistent colour.  If your mole is not the same colour all over but has different shades of brown, black, red, white or tan you should start considering a mole removal procedure and talk about it with your local doctor.

Diameter

The size of a mole will usually stay the same for a normal mole.  If your mole is larger than 6mm or is continuing to grow you should see your local doctor.

Summary

If you have any of the above ABCD symptoms on your existing moles you should contact your local doctor immediately and discuss mole removal surgery.  Other symptoms can be redness, itchiness, bleeding, pain or a scaly appearance.  Now you may check all of your current moles and find that they are all fine which is great.  But I want you to be vigilant, if at any time you notice a mole changing size, colour or shape you should contact your local doctor immediately also. Early detection is the best prevention for skin cancer in particular melanoma.

You should also consider having a consultation with a dermatologist so they can do a full body scan and map all of your current moles.  If you have these done regularly the dermatologist is able to detect changes in your moles.  Just so that you know a dermatologist is a doctor who specialises in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of skin disease and skin cancers

I want to repeat that the ABCD checks above are extremely important in the early detection of skin cancer.  If you are unsure in anyway see your local doctor as you could require immediate mole removal.  It is better to be safe than sorry and don’t worry about the mole removal cost as your health is more important than money.

Melanoma is the the most aggressive of all skin cancers and the most dangerous.  If left untreated it can cause serious sickness or in extreme cases, death.  Now the good news is that melanoma is not very common and is easily detectable and treatable by mole removal surgery.  There are some simple warnings signs that you can keep an eye out for.  You can read about these warning signs in a previous post ‘Should I consider mole removal or is my mole normal?‘ and pay particular attention to the acronym ABCD.

What puts me at risk?

There are several things that can increase your chances of melanoma and they can generally be grouped into five categories: sun exposure, skin type, number of moles, genetics and a weakened immune system.  If you have a combination of these categories it increases the chances that you will have to have a mole removal procedure.

Sun exposure

One of the biggest contributors to skin cancer is exposure to the sun’s UV rays.  The affects of UV radiation are most severe at midday when the sun is at it’s brightest.  Here is something that is interesting although a little scary!  If you have severe sunburn as a child it increases your risk of skin cancer later in life.  This is a good enough reason for me to cover up my little boy when we are out in the sun.

Skin type

Fair skinned people are at a higher risk as their skin burns easily and generally these people will also have blond or red hair and blue eyes.  Having a lot of freckles can increase your risk as well because people with freckles burn easily also.  Now if you have darker skin it is unwise to think you can’t get skin cancer because this is just not true!

Number of moles

If you have a large number of moles you are at higher risk.  With such a larger number of moles there is more chance that one of them could become cancerous.  I’ve mentioned this previously but where you live can affect how many moles you will have.  If you live in places with a lot of sun, like Australia, you are going to naturally have a larger number of moles.  A good rule of thumb is between 25 - 40 moles is fine.

Genetics

If anyone in your immediate family; father, mother, siblings, children, has had melanoma it increases your chances by up to 50% compared to a person who has had no family history.  If you’ve ever had melanoma previously it also increases your risk of getting it again which can be quite devastating.  Just when you think you have beaten it you may have to go through it all again not to mention that fact that you’ll probably end up with another mole removal scar.

A weakened immune system

People with weakened immune systems are at a greater risk.  This could be due to certain types of drugs that are being taken to treat cancer or due to viruses such as HIV/AIDS.

Summary

There are several factors that increase your odds of getting melanoma.  If you have any of the conditions mentioned above you should consult your local doctor or see a dermatologist and ask them about removing moles.  It is always better to be safe than sorry!

First let me start of by saying that pretty much everyone is born with a couple of moles, they are normal.  So you shouldn’t automatically think of mole removal just because you have a mole or two.

What are they?

So with that out of the way, what are they?  Well moles are basically  an overgrowth of pigmentation cells known technically as melanocytes.  They grow either by themselves or in groups.  Depending on the how many pigmentation cells are involved you end up with moles of all different shapes, colours and sizes.  Generally the more pigmentation cells, the darker the mole will be in colour.

Now remember what we said earlier about most people being born with a mole or two?  The bad news is that most will appear after birth in particular during your teenage years or during pregnancy.  Why is this?  It has to do with hormone levels.  During periods of high hormone level changes moles are more likely to grow.  This also means that with age moles slowly start to disappear and by age I am talking past 50!

There are other things that can cause moles to suddenly appear.  One way is through over-exposure to sun.  The sun’s UV rays seem to stimulate mole growth somehow and when do we tend to have a lot of sun exposure?  Yes that’s right, during our teenage years!  Another reason can be you have a family genetic trait that can result in you having a tendency to have more moles than the average person.

How many?

So a question I hear a lot is how many moles should an average person have?  Well somewhere between 25 - 40 would be considered normal but it also depends on where you live.  For example if you live in a country which has a lot of sun exposure like, say Australia, the average number of moles is going to be a lot higher.  It could be somewhere in the number of 100 moles on average.

Melanoma

Now why would the number of moles you have matter?  Unfortunately as the number of moles increases you are at greater risk of developing melanoma which is a particularly aggressive skin cancer.  It is in fact a cancer of the pigmentation cells and it can be extremely life threatening.  The only saving grace with melanoma is that it appears on the surface of the skin so is a lot easier to detect than internal cancers.  I want to discuss melanoma more in a future post but if you are in anyway suspicious that you have melanoma please read my post,  Should I consider mole removal or is my mole normal?  This post will explain the early warning signs and whether you should see a doctor immediately and arrange for mole removal.