A life-saving skin lesson by Marcia

The A, B, C and D’s of Pigmented Mole Lesions.

Look for any new lesions, especially with a color to treat either dark brown, black, red, white or multi-colored. Keep track of moles that were once flat that have become raised or change.

Now more about the ABCD lesson. A is for asymmetry, meaning you cannot fold the mole onto itself. B is for border—the border of the spot or lesion is irregular, not round or oval, or notched. C is for color, as mentioned above with elevation and redness and sometimes white. Anything new on your skin is a warning sign. An amelanotic melanoma, which is very rare, is a lesion, growth or spot that flakes, bleeds and just does not heal. The diameter is the least important factor. A dermatology check could save your life.

One of the key factors is knowledge and early detection by a trained eye. The post, growth or lesion can be completely removed for a full cure. Any growth you have a question about and is changing or growing needs to be checked on. Early, complete removal with margins is the key. Biopsies should be wide as well as not to diffuse the cancer cells into the bloodstream. So, if you think it is cancerous or precancerous, do not cut into it. Always get a good margin, good pathologist and a good skin specialist.

Go for the sunny glow with a tinted moisturizer. Also maintain an anti-aging and anti-acne diet high in antioxidants.  Topical skin vitamins are also helpful to build skin immunology such as topical C (magnesium C) topical A, E and topical niacinamide.

Avoid the sun and tanning booths. Do a self body check every six months and see a dermatologist if something is suspicious as outlined in this blog. I sure hope you will pass on these life-saving tips.

Until next time…..