The ABCDEs of Mole Changes

Different types of skin cancer can affect you, but one stands out as the most dangerous. Melanoma is the key form of skin cancer to watch for because it’s very aggressive and has a higher likelihood of spreading to other parts of your body. 

Fortunately, if you catch melanoma early, the five-year survival rate is extremely high. If addressed while it’s still localized, the survival rate is 97.6%. If caught while it’s still Stage 0 (confined to the outermost layer of your skin), the survival rate jumps to 100%. 

That’s why Ali Hendi, MD, and Kristina Lim, DO, aim to help people identify melanoma as early as possible. We offer skin cancer surveillance for people throughout the greater Washington, DC area, northern Virginia, and the eastern shore of Maryland. 

If we find a suspicious spot, we may implement the use of noninvasive DermTech Smart Stickers®. We offer this scalpel-free method here at Dr. Hendi & Associates in Chevy Chase, Maryland to aid in biopsy decisions.

We also want to equip you to check your skin yourself between visits to our office. That means learning your melanoma alphabet.

Learning your mole ABCDEs

Moles are common. The key to identifying melanoma centers on telling it apart from the other “normal” moles on your body. 

To help, experts developed the ABCDEs of melanoma. Each letter represents a specific indicator that the spot on your skin might contain problematic cells. The ABCDEs for which you should watch are:

• Asymmetry

• Border

• Color

• Diameter

• Evolution

Let’s break those down.

Most moles are fairly uniform. Asymmetry means that if you folded the mole in half, it wouldn’t match up. That’s a sign of irregular cell growth.

The B for border means to watch the perimeter of the spot on your skin. If it looks irregular or hard to make out, it’s a warning sign. 

The color of the spot can also be telling. Any mole with varied or unusual pigmentation, especially compared to your others, warrants a professional skin evaluation.

The diameter component says you should watch for moles that get above a certain size. If a mole grows to about a quarter inch — roughly the size of a pencil eraser — it should be checked by a professional.

Finally, you should watch for changes. That’s the most important warning sign of all. 

Why E is the most important letter

Other kinds of cancer can progress silently in your body without you knowing. With skin cancer, you get visible changes you can track if you’re paying attention. 

While the ABCDEs are a helpful teaching tool, don’t use them as a hard-and-fast set of rules. If a spot looks darker than your other moles, has an irregular border, and is changing, come see us, even if it’s smaller than a pencil eraser. If you wait until it crosses that diameter threshold, it could have time to progress from Stage 0 to a later stage. 

If you take only one thing from this blog, let it be this: Changing moles are worth watching. If the mole is evolving, it could be due to cancerous cells multiplying. 

If you’re not sure if a spot is changing, take a picture of it. This gives you a reference so you can compare the spot over time.

With skin cancer, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. If you have a spot that shows some or all of these melanoma warning signs, come see us. With Smart Stickers for certain lesions, we can check for the likelihood of melanoma, prior to any biopsy. 

To schedule a noninvasive melanoma detection appointment, call our office at 301-986-1006 or book your appointment online today.