Mole Concern Question

[nrichmond5]

Dear Doctor,

Approx 1.5 years ago I went to my general doctor to have a few moles checked out that I was concerned about. I was concerned because they appeared to violate some of the "ABCDE" rules for moles, such as being not oval, different colors, etc.

The doctor looked them over and stated that even though they did violate some of the "ABCDE" rules that he did not think they were a concern. A few months after that, I went to see another general doctor who told me the same thing.

Now these moles haven't changed shape since then or been ulcerated or anything. Essentially they have remained the same in terms of size, color, etc. from what I can tell. So they have remained unchanged from what I can see.

My question is; do moles or possible melanomas generally change shape or let themselves be known? Can a melanoma remain the same without changing over time and be a concern? Should I trust my general doctors who determined that they weren't a concern? I do not have any pain from these areas either.

Overall, I am wondering if I am justified in trusting my general practitioners diagnosis that they aren't a concern or should I have them checked out by a dermatologist to be safe? I realize you can't diagnose over the Internet, but do Melanomas generally continue to change shape, itch, ulcerate or do something over time or can they remain stagnate. In other words, if you have one is it obvious because they are changing over time in some fashion?

Thanks

[nrichmond5]

Dear Dr. Rockoff,

Thank you for the response. Just as a follow-up question, one thing I forgot to mention is that these moles are not very raised at all. Also, they have not expanded laterally on the skin.

Generally speaking from what I have read online, Melanoma would usually either expand in size in width or become more raised over time. If this is not happening, would this be a sign that the doctor could have been right? Also, they are not very large, approx the size of a pencil eraser.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Yes, melanomas would be expected to continue to evolve.  It is also true that many moles that cause no problem are not perfectly round, etc.  It's hard for me to tell you whom you can trust.  What your general doctors said certainly sounds plausible.  But since you're clearly still worried, maybe it's worth one visit to a skin specialist to set your mind at ease.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff