Normal moles are symmetrical, small, and flat. They have a smooth border and consistent coloration. Melanomas are often asymmetrical, larger than 6mm, and elevated. They have irregular borders and inconsistent coloring.
It can look like a: Changing mole. Spot that looks like a new mole, freckle, or age spot, but it looks different from the others on your skin. Spot that has a jagged border, more than one color, and is growing.
Multiple colors are a warning sign. While benign moles are usually a single shade of brown, a melanoma may have different shades of brown, tan or black. As it grows, the colors red, white or blue may also appear.
Color that is uneven: Shades of black, brown, and tan may be present. Areas of white, gray, red, pink, or blue may also be seen. Diameter: There is a change in size, usually an increase. Melanomas can be tiny, but most are larger than the size of a pea (larger than 6 millimeters or about 1/4 inch).
Talk to your doctor if you notice changes in your skin such as a new growth, a sore that doesn't heal, a change in an old growth, or any of the A-B-C-D-Es of melanoma. A change in your skin is the most common sign of skin cancer. This could be a new growth, a sore that doesn't heal, or a change in a mole.
How melanoma is diagnosed. For melanoma, a biopsy of the suspicious skin area, called a lesion, is the only sure way for the doctor to know if it is cancer. In a biopsy, the doctor takes a small sample of tissue for testing in a laboratory.
A blue nevus is a benign mole that may easily be mistaken for melanoma. It is a blue-black, smooth, raised nodule that commonly occurs on the buttocks, hands, or feet. The dark blue color results from the refraction of the light from the pigment being deeper in the skin than most brown moles.
Seborrheic keratosis doesn't turn into melanoma, but the two can be mistaken for each other. Both can be brown or black and appear anywhere on the body. There are some important differences, however: Seborrheic keratoses often appear in numbers, while melanoma is usually single.
While birthmarks can be a significant source of concern to parents, most are harmless and require no treatment.
Birthmarks can be flat or raised, have regular or irregular borders, and have different shades of coloring from brown, tan, black, or pale blue to pink, red, or purple. Most birthmarks are harmless and many even go away on their own or shrink over time. Sometimes birthmarks are associated with other health problems.
Age spots aren't painful and don't bleed or ooze. You'll want to have these areas examined for skin cancer. Changing. Spots that become asymmetric, have borders that shift, get darker or lighter, or change in diameter should be checked for skin cancer.
“Even though we think of malignant melanoma as being large, it can appear initially as a small, dark spot that just looks creepy,” says Dr. Shamban. Melanomas can be tiny black dots that are no bigger than a pen tip.
How long can you have melanoma and not know it? It depends on the type of melanoma. For example, nodular melanoma grows rapidly over a matter of weeks, while a radial melanoma can slowly spread over the span of a decade. Like a cavity, a melanoma may grow for years before producing any significant symptoms.
Melanoma can grow very quickly. It can become life-threatening in as little as 6 weeks and, if untreated, it can spread to other parts of the body. Melanoma can appear on skin not normally exposed to the sun.
Pigment, redness or swelling that spreads outside the border of a spot to the surrounding skin. Itchiness, tenderness or pain. Changes in texture, or scales, oozing or bleeding from an existing mole. Blurry vision or partial loss of sight, or dark spots in the iris.
The first sign of melanoma is often a mole that changes size, shape or color. This melanoma shows color variations and an irregular border, both of which are melanoma warning signs. Melanomas can develop anywhere on your body.
General symptoms
hard or swollen lymph nodes. hard lump on your skin. unexplained pain. feeling very tired or unwell.
A visual check of your skin only finds moles that may be cancer. It can't tell you for sure that you have it. The only way to diagnose the condition is with a test called a biopsy. If your doctor thinks a mole is a problem, they will give you a shot of numbing medicine, then scrape off as much of the mole as possible.
What are the signs of late-stage skin cancer? Melanoma is considered stage 4 when it has metastasized to lymph nodes in a part of the body far from the original tumor or if it has metastasized to internal organs like the lungs, liver, brain, bone or gastrointestinal tract.
Blood Tests
If melanoma has become invasive, the patient is likely to have a higher than normal blood level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). The results of this test will affect staging of the melanoma and the course of treatment.
Visible signs of precancerous skin
Crustiness or bleeding. Diameter of less than one inch. Discoloration, often appearing brown, pink, gray, red, yellow, or white. Flat or slightly raised.
One of the most common and most preventable causes of melanoma is sunburn – the skin damage caused by prolonged exposure to intense solar radiation – which might be why the ribbon color associated with melanoma is black.
People with fair complexion, blond or red hair, blue eyes, and freckles are at increased risk for developing melanoma. This risk is also higher for people whose skin has a tendency to burn rather than tan. Family history. About 10% of people with melanoma have a family history of the disease.