What do cancerous moles look like

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Cancer Genomics Research. Research on Causes of Cancer. Cancer Prevention Research. Cancer Treatment Research. Cancer Health Disparities. Childhood Cancers Research. Not all skin cancers look like these descriptions, though. The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team. Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.

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For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy. How to Spot Skin Cancer. Border The edges are irregular, ragged, notched, or blurred. Evolving The mole is changing in size, shape, or color. Reviewed by Helpful resources. The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.

The first five letters of the alphabet are a guide to help you recognize the warning signs of melanoma. A is for Asymmetry. Most melanomas are asymmetrical. B is for Border. Melanoma borders tend to be uneven and may have scalloped or notched edges, while common moles tend to have smoother, more even borders. C is for Color.

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. D is for Diameter or Dark. Some experts say it is also important to look for any lesion, no matter what size, that is darker than others.

Rare, amelanotic melanomas are colorless. E is for Evolving. Any change in size, shape, color or elevation of a spot on your skin, or any new symptom in it, such as bleeding, itching or crusting, may be a warning sign of melanoma. E is for Evolving Before. E is for Evolving After. Please note: Since not all melanomas have the same appearance, these photos serve as a general reference for what melanoma can look like.

The Ugly Duckling is another warning sign of melanoma.