These changes are usually nothing to worry about and moles elsewhere on your body should stay the same size. Moles on your breasts and abdomen are likely to get larger as your skin stretches. If a melanoma is found, the biopsy specimen will provide valuable information about its type and depth that will help to plan the next step in treatment.It's common for women to notice minor changes to their moles during pregnancy. If the area is too large to remove easily, a sample of it (a biopsy) will be taken. If the mole needs to be examined further, the whole of the suspicious area will then be removed under a local anaesthetic (an excision biopsy) and sent to the laboratory to be examined. The only way in which the diagnosis of a melanoma can be made firmly is by looking at the suspected area under microscope in the laboratory. However, if there is still any doubt, your doctor will usually refer you to a specialist (a dermatologist or a surgeon with a special interest in pigmented lesions) who will examine the area, perhaps with a special instrument (a dermatoscope), and decide whether it needs to be removed. The ABCD changes listed above can sometimes be found in completely harmless conditions, and your doctor will often be able to put your mind at rest quickly. If you are at all worried about changes in a mole, or about a new area of pigmentation appearing on your skin, you should see your family doctor. as a result of an HIV infection or taking immunosuppressive drugs, perhaps after an organ transplant) have an increased chance of getting a melanoma. People with a damaged immune system (e.g.People who have already had one melanoma are at an increased risk of getting another one.The risk is raised if another family member has had a melanoma.The tendency to have these ‘dysplastic naevi’ can run in families and carries an increased risk of getting a melanoma. They tend to be larger than ordinary moles, to be present in large numbers, and to have irregular edges or colour patterns. Some people have many unusual (atypical) moles (known as ‘dysplastic naevi’).People with many (more than 50) ordinary moles, or with a very large dark hairy birthmark, have a higher than average chance of getting a melanoma.However, not all melanomas are due to sun exposure, and some appear in areas that are normally kept covered. Past episodes of severe sunburn, often with blisters, and particularly in childhood, increase the risk of developing a melanoma.Melanomas are less common in dark-skinned people. Often they have blond or red hair, blue or green eyes, and freckle easily. Melanoma occurs most often in fair-skinned people who tan poorly.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |