Mole Mapping Guide: All You Need To Know To Prevent Melanoma

 

Have you noticed a new or unusual mole on your body recently? Think you’ve a high chance of developing melanoma? Prevention is always the best strategy when it comes to skin cancer. Usually, skin cancer is curable if diagnosed and removed early. That’s where mole mapping comes in. It is the procedure of examining and documenting your skin and individual moles over time to detect any change in moles as early as possible.

Many individuals are born with scattered moles. Some develop them during childhood and others in their adolescence. Even though skin moles are generally normal, they can be very deadly and dangerous. Once your moles start looking unusual (for instance there’s change in shape or colour), you should be cautious and get them checked from time to time. Getting your moles mapped is thus more important than ever to ensure your moles look their best and stay protected.

Here’s all you need to know about this effective way of checking your skin moles.

What Is Mole Mapping?

Mole map is a clinical process, where a doctor uses a purpose-built device for digitally photographing skin moles and other skin lesions. High-resolution pictures are used to allow dermatologists check lesions on your body. Mole mapping can thus help professionals document the history of moles to see if there is any change to your lesions in the future.

Lesions are the changes made to your perfectly normal and healthy skin, which can be both cancerous (malignant) as well as non-cancerous (benign). Furthermore, the pictures can provide you with a way to track several changes on your skin, particularly if you have numerous unusual moles or have a history of skin cancer.

Why Is Early Detection Important?

Every year, more people receive diagnosis for skin cancer than for the other kinds of cancers combined. Even though that sounds quite frightening on the surface, the truth is that early detection of melanoma has great survival rate. This makes it one of the most treatable cancers nowadays. Furthermore, timely mole removal on face means fewer deaths due to skin cancer.

Who Is The Ideal Candidate For Mole Removal?

·       People who have over 50 moles

·       Individuals with many unusual and atypical moles

·       People who have a previous family or personal history of melanoma

·       Skin that’s been severely sunburned once or more times

What Are The Benefits Of Mole Map Procedure?

Some of many benefits of getting aesthetic treatments for mole removal are:

·       Provides a documented history of your skin moles and skin lesions.

·       Critical lesions could be removed at an earlier stage depending on the recommendation from a dermatologist.

·       Can be very helpful in determining changes to your skin based on the earlier record.

·       Magnified digital photos, often used in mole mapping, provide abundant information for trained professionals than the regular digital photos.

What Do Cancerous Moles Look Like?

The ABCDE guide is a great memory tool for helping your efforts.

·       Asymmetrical

Whenever a spot deviates from oval or round and its halves do not match

·       Border

Irregularities start developing along the edge of a mole

·       Colour

Be it changes in colour, unevenness in colour, or additional colours, it is all suspicious

·       Diameter

Moles that have grown larger than 6 mm (almost one-fourth of an inch)

·       Evolving

Any change to moles, especially one that’s been steady for several years, plus shape, size, colour, height, or conditions like itchiness or bleeding

Final Thoughts:

Now that you have this handy guide, what are you still waiting for? If you’re concerned about the moles on your body, schedule an appointment for mole mapping with a specialist. It’s time to make skincare your top priority!