Couples Can Learn to Check for Suspicious Moles on Each Other

We recently ran across this article about checking suspicious moles on your spouse from the Chicago Tribune and it led to me thinking about how we do it.

When I check a patient’s skin for suspicious moles, I am looking for a lesion that does not look like all of the other moles on the body.  It may have a different color, or a different border.  It may be much larger than other spots on the skin or it may appear to have bled recently.

Sometimes I will see an area that isn’t well defined but is red and flaky.  Any of these attributes may make a lesion suspicious in my mind.

If my patients were to notice any of these things on their skin or their partner’s skin, it would be worth mentioning it to me or to their regular physician.