Why Mole Mapping is Important

When you have multiple moles on your body, you might find that it can be hard to keeptrack of them all. You might not be able to tell whether a mole is changing, or if you’re developing new moles. Fortunately,mole mapping in Melbourneis available to help you monitor your moles and protect your health.

What is Mole Mapping?

Mole mapping is an easy, painless and non-invasive way of keeping track of moles and checking for cancerous moles before it’s too late. Your mole mapping doctor will check all the moles on your body and document them over a certain period of time, looking out for any potential signs of skin cancer.

Your doctor will use a combination of advanced mole mapping software, in-depth skin examination, digital dermatoscopy and whole-body photography to map every mole on your body. To protect the privacy of patients, these images are stored on an encrypted server. These images will then be compared to the ones taken on subsequent visits. This will help to identify suspicious moles and allow your doctor to make a decision about what action should be taken next: further examination, removal or biopsy.

TheBenefits of Mole Mapping

The benefits of mole mapping in Melbourne include:

• If performed as part of a total body skin exam, concerning lesions can be identified even if you didn’t think they were suspicious.
• Dermoscopy photos used for mole mapping provide more information to trained professionalscompared to normal digital photos
• Cancerousmoles can be removed while still at an earlier stage
• Mole mapping can be helpful when it comes to determining skin changes over time
• It provides a documented history of a patient’s moles and lesions

Mole mapping canhelp professionals document the history of patients’ moles to check for changes in the future. Generally, this photographic record is important because it helps remove the stress regarding missing future skin changes.

Are All Moles Dangerous?

No, not all moles are dangerous. In fact, moles areso common that most people ignore them. They usually appear in the early years of a person’s life. Studies suggest that by the time children in Australia turn 15, they often have 50 moles or more. Regular moles range between 1 millimetre and 10 millimetres in size, have an even tone and colour, and are uniformly shaped.

Unlike regular moles that are harmless, melanoma is characterised by moles that change colour, size and shape over time. However, it’s sometimes difficult to tell the difference between a cancerous mole and a regular mole. If you notice a new mole after turning 25, or if the moles change their colour, size or form, it’s best to get them examined as soon as possible.

Do I Need Mole Mapping?

People who are more likely to develop melanoma should consider mole mapping in Melbourne. High-risk factors include the following:

• Having been previously diagnosed with melanoma
• The presence of atypical or dysplastic moles (large moles or moles that have irregular borders, unusual shape and a mixture of colours)
• Having more than 50 moles, or over 10 moles on each of your arm
• Having freckles and red hair

A family history of either blistering sunburns or melanoma