Know Your ABCDEs When It Comes to Moles

Given that skin cancer affects one in five people in the United States, having a basic understanding of this class of diseases is an excellent idea.

As experts in skin health, you’ve certainly come to the right place. At Magnolia Dermatology, Dr. Samantha Robare and the team are here to support your skin health in every way possible, both medically and cosmetically. And medically speaking, one of the biggest threats is skin cancer, which is why you should be familiar with the ABCDEs of moles.

Here’s what you need to know about skin cancer and moles.

Not all moles are cause for concern

When discussing moles in the context of skin cancer, we always like to start with an important point — most everyone has moles. In fact, the average person has about 10-40 moles, and most of these develop by the time you reach your 20s.

There are three main types of skin cancer:

1. Basal cell carcinoma, which accounts for 80% of skin cancers
2. Squamous cell carcinoma
3. Melanoma, which will be diagnosed in nearly 105,000 Americans in 2025

While all cancers can be serious, the one that we’re most concerned with is melanoma, and a significant percentage of melanomas stem from moles.

Getting to know the mole alphabet

Over time, moles can evolve, change, or even disappear, making it challenging to identify potentially problematic moles. As you’ll see by the ABCDEs that we get into below, we want you to be on the lookout for any changes in your moles that fit the following:

A for Asymmetry

Most moles feature a round shape, with both sides being similar. A mole in which the two halves are different is one that we should look at.

B is for border

Potentially problematic moles often have poorly defined borders — they’re blurred or scalloped, as examples.

C is for color

Most moles on your body have a uniform color — they’re the same dark brown or light brown throughout, for example. Moles that develop different colors within the same mole should be investigated.

D is for diameter

We want to take a look at any mole that’s 6 millimeters or more in diameter, which is about the size of an eraser at the end of a pencil.

E is for evolving

We already mentioned that normal moles can evolve over time, so this sign of skin cancer can be tricky. That said, if you notice a mole that’s changing in size, shape, color, or texture, please let us know so we can monitor the changes.

We always urge our patients to err on the side of caution when it comes to moles. We also recommend undergoing regular skin checks so that you have a set of professional eyes monitoring the moles and other skin changes in your body.

If you have more questions about moles or would like us to check some out, we’re happy to help. To get started, we invite you to contact us at Magnolia Dermatology in Cypress, Texas, to set up an appointment today.