How To Identify Cancerous Moles?

Posted on Wed, 7 Oct 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 7 Oct 2015 Answered on

Tue, 27 Oct 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : hi I am disabled, I have Lupus, fibromyalgia,chron's disease and other health issues about 15 yes ago I quit going out in the sun because I was dial with lupus and it was starting to affect me but from 14 years old up until I was about 28 I always went to tanning beds or outside in the sun I am 42 now.
I have 2 places that concern me,a year ago they were barely there and now they have grown and changed in shape and size. I do have a family history of melanoma, my grandmother on my father's side died from it and my father has had several cancerous moles removed.
I'm including 2 pictures,the first one is on my chest right above my left breast and the second is on the bottom of my left forearm.
could you please tell me if they look concerning or cancerous?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Shruti Rijhwani (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Doesnt seem so.

Detailed Answer:
Dear Madam,

Thank you for posting your query on HCM.

Well looking at the picture, it doesn't raise an alarm because there are no ragged margins or abnormal vascularity or evident ulceration. But it would be best to get it biopsied to make sure that we do not miss subtle evidence of cancerous growth. Since you have a strong history of melanomas I will suggest you to get a biopsy done and rule out the suspicion.

That being said by clinical appearance it doesn't look cancerous .

Take care.

Dr. Shruti

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad