'Any change in the size, shape, border or color - those are signs to watch for,' Rhyan says. Monitor your moles and spots regularly to make sure they aren't changing over several weeks or months. Evolving – Exposure to UV rays can change any of the above.If one of yours is larger than the size of a pencil eraser, it could be cancerous. Diameter – Large moles and spots are rare.Color or tone that varies from one area to the other is cause for worry. Color – Both cancerous and regular moles can be many colors.Border – Similar to asymmetry, look at the border to see if it's uneven, jagged or poorly defined.When one half is unlike the other half, that's a concern. Asymmetry – Most spots and moles are circular and consistent.She recommends following the ABCDE method to examine your moles and identify anything that has changed since your baseline skin cancer screening: 'Have somebody help you check the back of your body or use a hand mirror.' Check yourself over at home monthly in front of a full-length mirror to get used to what's on your skin,' Rhyan says. Checking your own spots and moles helps catch skin cancer early. They also point out all the common spots that you have so you become more familiar with your own skin. They look for anything suspicious - spots with abnormal shape, color, texture or size. 'It's just good to get a baseline so you know what you have on your body.'Ī dermatologist can do a skin cancer screening, a visual examination to look over your entire body. Sometimes it's hard to tell what they are,' Rhyan says. 'After age 30 or so, you start to see more age spots, sun freckles and those types of things. You have to be familiar with the spots on your skin to catch these changes. Or an old freckle or mole that's looked the same for years can suddenly change in size, shape or color. Your skin can develop new spots after sun exposure. They just don't look like your other spots.' 'I like to call them the ugly duckling spots. 'Any spot that is new, different or just not healing, it's good to be aware of those,' says Susan Rhyan, PA-C, a Dermatology physician assistant at The Iowa Clinic's West Des Moines campus. When your spots change, it could be an early sign of skin cancer. And those changes to the skin lead to more color - pink, red, dark brown and black spots - that are not what you envisioned in your quest for a healthy glow. But humans can change theirs.Įvery day, people expose their skin to the sun's natural ultraviolet rays or a tanning bed's artificial ones to 'get some color.' They get tanner skin, and in some cases, red sunburns.

Mole on palm of hand