Skin Cancer, Does it look like a brown spot?
There are three main types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas and malignant melanoma. The first two are slow-growing and easy to treat, but malignant melanoma is a dangerous, fast-growing cancer that spreads very quickly. The majority of melanomas occur on the head, neck, arms and back - ie the skin exposed most to sunlight. Most of them are very dark or black, but they can sometimes be lighter brown or even speckled. The surface is usually raised and sometimes rough. They are not normally circular in shape, but some can be quite close to a circle. In their early stages, they often look like a mole, but with a ragged outline or different shades of colour in it. Sometimes, they appear to be a mole that is bleeding, oozing or crusty. However, the most important thing is that melanomas usually change shape or colour as they grow. Any spot that changes colour or shape should be reported to your doctor. The vast majority of basal cell carcinomas occur on the face. They start as a small, pink, pearly or waxy spot, often circular or oval in shape. As they grow, they become a raised, flat spot with a 'rolled' edge and they may develop a crust. Next, they begin to bleed from the centre and an ulcer develops. This is called a rodent ulcer and, if left long enough, it can become quite large and eat away the skin and tissue below. Squamous cell carcinomas are most common on the limbs, head and neck. They are pink and irregular in shape, usually with a hard, scaly or horny surface, although they can sometimes become an ulcer. The edges are sometimes raised. They can be tender to the touch. For all types of skin cancer, over-exposure to ultraviolet light, from sunlight or sunbeds, is the main risk. Research into malignant melanoma suggests that over-exposure in childhood puts people at risk of getting melanomas later in life. There are several other things that increase the risk of skin cancer: having very fair skin that burns easily, having lots of moles (over 50) on your body, having had skin cancer before, your close relatives having skin cancer and being treated with anti-rejection drugs (ie after an organ transplant). Exposure to radiation or long-term exposure to chemicals such as coal tar, soot, pitch, asphalt, creosote, paraffin wax or arsenic, can increase your risk of non-melanoma skin cancer.
Is this small brown mole cancerous?
If I were you I would go in and find a dermatologist to remove it. You do not want to take any chance now or later with skin cancer. Most likely it's no where near cancerous right now, but that doesn't mean it can't be. Skin cancer is a pretty nasty cancer, and if it's located on the penis can metastasize into penile cancer which no man wants to risk. Because with penis cancer, if you need surgery that involves removing all or part of the penis. So it's better just to get any mole, skin tag, or dark spots removed. I wouldn't panic or freak out about it right now but I would get it removed. Plus, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't want a mole on my penis for cosmetic purposes. I wouldn't want my penis having moles on it. I just don't think that looks attractive at all. I've had a couple moles removed before (as they were abnormal) and it's a small injection on the site and takes like 10 minutes to cut it out and sew it up with one stitch. They numb the area before injecting you. It's really not that big of a deal. It doesn't hurt. The sound of the needle is way worse than it actually is. -Connor
Mole on scalp possibly cancerous?
when checking moles your supposed to look for the ABCD's of moles A) asymmetry- is it round do the 2 sides match? B) border irregularity-are the edges scalloped C) color-is it darkly pigmented or multiple shades D) diameter-is it bigger than a pencil eraser if the answer to these questions is 2 or more yes than go get it checked out