Nearly all of us who have reached adulthood have moles on our skin.
They’re quite normal and in most cases are nothing to worry about (except for reasons of vanity of course). However, moles are something we should keep a watchful eye on, as any sudden changes in the size of moles or in their number can be an indication of the onset of melanoma.
Sometimes of course it’s quite difficult to observe individual moles as they’re placed on parts of the body like the back. Also, as we grow older and the number of moles increases over time then it becomes increasingly difficult to remember what size they used to be and how many we have.
In most parts of the western world services exist to carry out what are known as Mole Mapping” scans. These scan every single inch of the body and store the results. As the number of scans increases over the years, computerized systems compare one scan to another and check for noticeable changes in mole size and frequency, thereby allowing early detection of potential melanoma symptoms.
These services are strongly recommended by most doctors and are explained very well in this video:
