I’ve always had pale skin, and unfortunately it is common to have moles with pale skin. It kind of runs in my family — we all have moles. A lot of people have moles. I found myself wishing as I got older than my moles would just disappear. I thought they were ugly, but now I’ve learned how to deal with them and don’t find them particularly ugly anymore.
If you’re like me, having moles comes with a lot of responsibility. The more you go out without sunscreen, the more moles you’re likely to get. Growing up, my mom tried to make me wear sunscreen every day and everywhere. Unfortunately, until a few years ago, I only listened to her when I went to the pool or beach.
When I was 20, I noticed that two moles on the very top of my right breast had changed. They went from dark in color to fleshy or peach-colored and had irregular borders. While I was in my dermatologist’s office to get treated for acne, he noticed the mole and suggested that we biopsy it. I didn’t think much of it because I had had moles removed before, and nothing was ever found.
About a week later the office called me to tell me that my mole was pre-cancerous. The nurse said that the doctor advised I get the mole removed immediately before the stems grew deeper or it turned into skin cancer. Well …that’s something every 20-year-old wants to hear.
I went in for a procedure as soon as I could and got it removed. The procedure really wasn’t that bad; they numbed the area around it and removed it while I was awake. I made sure to keep my eyes on the sweet older nurse who kept telling me how good I was doing, so I didn’t look at the blood and begin to get scared. To remove a deep mole, the doctor must remove the entire area of skin under the mole to ensure the mole’s roots are gone and cancer doesn’t start to grow. I didn’t feel anything during the procedure but the area was sensitive and sore for a few weeks after. Since it was on my chest where there isn’t a lot of excess skin, the scar is bigger than it normally would be and is somewhat stretched out. I don’t really notice it that much, but it is noticeable. All the creams I’ve tried haven’t worked to get rid of it, so I’m thinking it’ll become a gets-fainter-with-age kind of thing.
With the mole removal came more responsibility for me. I monitor my moles on a daily to weekly basis to make sure none have changed. I also have to get my moles checked once a year by a dermatologist, on every inch of my body. It takes about 15 minutes, but it could save my life one day. It also doesn’t hurt that my new dermatologist is young and hot! Here’s an interesting factoid he told me during my last mole check: People stop having the ability to grow new moles when they are 40. I have no idea why.
My family friend is a doctor and he told me recently about the ABCD’s of moles. Dr. Per Lundberg suggests looking for the ABCD’s while checking yourself for mole.
- A stands for asymmetry. if the mole is not symmetrical it may be a problem mole.
- B stands for border. If the mole isn’t perfectly round and has irregular borders, or if it changes to irregular borders like mine, it might be time to get it checked.
- C stands for color; if the mole is two or more colors or changes in color, you need to get it checked.
- D stands for diameter. Common moles are 5 millimeters (a quarter of an inch in diameter) or less; a doctor should check anything larger.
If you are predisposed to moles, you will most likely get them regardless of your sun exposure. However, you can continue to protect yourself and even prevent yourself from a dangerous mole by wearing sunscreen every day! I try to put it on my body every day under my moisturizer. I always put sunscreen on my face. zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are the purest forms of sunscreen and typically work the best, at least for me. However, they can be really heavy and sweaty, so as long as the sunscreen you use is approved by the Skin Cancer Foundation, or at least one that offers broad-spectrum protection, you should be good. I found that if my makeup has less than 30 SPF then it’s not enough for me, so I always layer on a first coat before my makeup, which also contains zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.
Here’s my main point: Achieving the look you want might be important, but make sure you protect yourself. The last thing any of us wants is to have skin cancer at such a young age.
Though in the grand scheme of things my skin cancer scare wasn’t the biggest problem I’ve ever had to deal with, it was still pretty scary. What’s more important: Being tan and risking skin cancer or being (slightly) paler and healthy?