Video
Body Check: Moles
Moles are generally harmless but they can lead to a deadly form of skin cancer called a malignant melanoma. In this video, Dr Christian explains what to look out for when checking your moles.
New moles can develop at any time. Moles generally come in a range of shapes, sizes and colours. They are normally nothing to worry about, unless they start to change and develop unusual characteristics. Use the simple A B C D rule to spot these changes.
A – Asymmetry, a mole shouldn’t differ from one side to the other.
B – Border, the edges of the mole shouldn’t be blurred or jagged.
C – Colour, look out for any changes in colour or patchy shades.
D – Diameter, check to see if a mole increases in size or if it is larger than 6mm across.
Also check to see if a mole reddens itches, crusts or bleeds and if you spot any of these changes, make an appointment and see your GP.
We want to hear about your findings, so please click the link below and add your results to our national survey.
+++Update+++
From the 13th – 20th May 2009 we conducted a National Health Survey to find out how many people had potentially problematic moles. Below are the detailed results.
Most of you who responded had normal looking moles, but around 10% of you found ones with either asymmetric or irregular borders. These are often benign, but if you are worried, or you spot changes to your moles, get them checked out. A good way to check for changes is to take a photo of your mole at regular intervals. That way you can judge whether the mole is changing, and take the pictures to your doctor if necessary.
Around a fifth of you reported itchy moles. This is definitely something that you should see your GP about, especially if they are painful or start to bleed regularly.
A small number of you also reported moles that had reddened suddenly, which comes under the ‘c’ for change warning sign. This can be a normal pigment change, but it could also be indicative of a mole turning malignant, so should be checked out by a medical professional.
Normal Moles – 56%
Irregular Border – 3%
Uneven Colour – 1%
Assymetric – 9%
Large Diameter – 8%
None – 23%
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Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out the Channel 4 Health site or NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.
Im 13 and ive got a mole on my neck and its crusty with and got light brown around it the actuall mole is a dark brown colour im really Worried Dx pleasee Help!
all i want to know is how the hell i can get rid of them. They have made me loose my confidence dramatically and because of them i have not been able to take my top when going done the beacch with my friends.
i have had a mole for as long as i remember on my neck, today i have noticed that it has developed a white skin tag growing out of the middle of it. the mole is small and my hair covers the mole at the back of my neck. should i go to my g p?
my 11 year old daughter has a mole on the inside of her labia,is this anything to worry about or can this be quite normal?
I just wanted to send a comment to thank the Embarrassing illnesses team.
I have a mole on my back that I had not even thought about having checked until I wanted an episode (I don't miss any of them, I am hooked!) about moles. I went to my GP to have it checked over. I realised that the more I thought about it, it had become very itchy from time to time.
I have now been referred to a dermatologist at the Churchill hospital in Oxford to have it removed next week.
This could be a melanoma, so I wanted to thank you all for raising my awareness and encouraging me to get it removed.
Thanks Channel 4!
i'm 13 years old and i got sun burnt really bad a couple of years ago and got a 12 mm mole on my back and i dont know if it is skin cancer or a large mole what do i do?
i used to have severe acne on my face, back and chest, i went to my gp and he set me up on a 6 month long tablet period and since then my spots have reduced to what i now have which is scaring, the are on my cheeks and can b clearly seen, its lowered my self confidence and want to know if anything can be done to reduce the scaring or even remove them, what can i do??
i have a mole on my chest under my left nipple, it is an oval shape and has 2 or 3 round dark spots on it, i would say this mole is 3cm wide, and 2 cm high, what should i do ?
Heya i also have moles all over my body and am especially wondering about a large one on my back which is about 1cm long and dark. It's been itchy a couple of times and its tender and sore if I scratch it by accident. Is that normal? thanks
I have a mole on my stomach that seems to be getting bigger. It's symmetrical but it's raised a bit and it itches. I went to my doctor and I didn't feel settled that he said it was fine and for me to come back in 4 months if it was getting bigger and itching. Please can someone advise if this itching is normal?