There’s a cancer related reason why you should never self-remove a skin tag. A skin tag is formed in areas where there’s friction such as that from clothing or folds in the skin. Read more...
You’re not neurotic if you’re afraid a melanoma will grow back where one was removed and you keep checking the area – because it CAN. Read more…
MOLE Has your mole always been grey and yellow? Or has it always been kind of grey, and now it has a dull yellow area? What’s alarming about this is if you know Read more...
Subungual melanoma is a type of longitudinal melanonychia, but what are the tipoffs that longitudinal melanonychia is malignant vs. benign? A brown or black band, stripe, streak or line in a nail is a very Read more...
Blue arrows point to Hutchinson’s sign from melanoma shown under magnification. Copyright ©2018 Bhat et al If you know what a Hutchinson’s sign is, perhaps you’re wondering just what is a micro-Hutchinson’s sign Read more...
It’s pretty scary to know that a perfectly normal mole can look like a melanoma, and even more unnerving is that a melanoma may pass as a benign mole. Read more…
Nodular melanoma is a particularly lethal form of cancer that disregards the ABCDE guidelines that are so publicized about melanoma. Delayed diagnosis is more common with nodular melanoma than with the more common superficial spreading Read more...
A normal mole is supposed to be one color, or at least, two shades of a color. But brown and grey are two completely different colors. Is this melanoma? Read more…
Hutchinson’s sign … or pseudo-Hutchinson’s? Credit: Nameer Al-Sudany, MD Are there features about melanoma’s Hutchinson’s sign that are different than those found in pseudo-Hutchinson’s sign – which has causes other than melanoma? Read more...
The appearance of blood under a toenail can closely resemble a melanoma – and vice versa. Here is a comparison of the differences and similarities. Read more…
The term “ugly duckling mole” has a specific meaning when it comes to melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer. Read more…
Actinic keratosis Though most squamous cell carcinomas were once actinic keratoses, most AK’s will not turn into cancer. However, it’s impossible to predict which lesions will eventually begin undergoing a malignant transformation. Read more...
Don’t let the media’s portrayal of skin cancer patients fool you. Blacks and other dark skinned people need to do monthly self-exams because they too can get any of the three major skin cancers: Read more...
Any race can get nail plate cancer. Yes, it’s possible and it happens: A nail melanoma being misdiagnosed as a harmless elongated “birth mark” or benign melanonychia. Read more…
The Hutchinson’s sign is a very tell-tale sign of fingernail or toenail melanoma. Further complicating this issue is that benign pigment in a nail can mimic a true Hutchinson’s sign. Read Read more...
A doctor may describe a melanoma as having “central regression” or as being “centrally regressed.” Though this term seemingly is self-explanatory, it does warrant further explanation to the layperson. Read more…
If you think you have a skin tag, it’s possible it’s a melanoma, and it’s also possible for a doctor to misdiagnose a melanoma as a benign skin tag. Read more…
You just had a melanoma removed and are now seeing new moles or little spots very close to the excision site. Read more…
You probably already know that nail melanoma is often a dark line or stripe under the nail, but it can also be pink or a pinkish flesh color. Read more…
If pimples are supposed to be some shade of pink or flesh colored, then what causes a pimple to be purple? Read more…