Guest Author - Cheryl Lewis

As a mother I never thought I would have to be concerned about skin cancer and my children. I've always used sunscreen on my kids and didn't think for one second that my kids were at risk. One of my boys has some very small moles, also known as beauty marks, that are about the size of the tip of a pencil lead. They've been there all his life and never been a problem.

This particular child of mine is old enough now that he doesn't need help with his bath or getting dressed. It's also been cold so he's kept a shirt on practically all the time. He's also shy and not a bit eager to run around without his clothes. The problem is that when one of those little beauty marks, which is really a very small mole, starts changing it can really catch you off guard.

I never thought to do regular checks on any of my children and their moles or birth marks. Finding a mole that had gone from the size of a pencil lead tip to a size a bit larger than the eraser on a pencil within four months or so was shocking. Needless to say, I took him to see the Doctor. She promptly sent him to a Pediatric Dermatologist.

The Dermatologist wanted to wait and watch this mole for the next three to six months. I said no. I normally do not directly disagree with a Doctor (then again, I have a great family practioner) and I will normally listen and consider their point. Not this time. I was positively adamant and thankfully this Doctor, who is also a mom, listened.

The mole was removed and sent to a Pathology lab where it will be tested to find out if there is something to worry about. What we have going postively for us is that the mole was very round, not an odd shape. The borders were pretty well defined as well. The best thing we have going for us is that it's a young child so generally not anything to worry about.

What we have going negatively for us is that it went from the size of pencil lead tip to the size of pencil eraser very quickly. It also went from a light brown, caramel color to a dark almost black with some uneveness to the overall color. It also went from a smooth small patch of skin that you really couldn't even feel to a raised, bumpy mole.

There are generally four symptoms they look for in skin cancer; asymmetry, border, color and diameter. So we have two out of two going for us or against us depending on how you look at it. I prefer to think we have more going for us than against us. I have bone deep, gut feeling that tells me that removing that mole was the right thing to do and no matter what the Pathology lab comes back with next week, we'll be able to deal with it.

My point with this article is two-fold; one, trust your mother's instinct when you feel strongly about something with your kids and stand your ground, and two, check your children for moles and any changes in those moles. The skin is the largest organ we have and it's our job to keep a watchful eye on that organ. Yes, we bandage boo-boo's and kiss the hurts, but keeping them slathered in sunscreen and a watchful eye can only help.