What should you know about melanoma under breast?

Melanoma is a cancer of pigment-producing cells. A spot beneath the breast may be brown, black, pink, red, or a mixture of shades. Concerning change can include growth, an uneven outline, new colour variation, bleeding, crusting, or persistent itching. Friction, an irritated mole, a benign growth, or an infection can look similar, and appearance alone cannot confirm the cause.

A clinician may examine the skin with magnification and compare the mark with nearby lesions. If it is concerning, a biopsy or complete removal allows a laboratory diagnosis. The result helps determine whether more treatment or staging is needed.

Book a dermatology appointment soon, especially if the mark is new or changing. Do not scratch, shave, burn, or apply unprescribed creams to it. Photograph it in consistent lighting and note when you first noticed the change. Keep the fold dry and reduce rubbing from tight clothing while waiting.

Take a list of medicines and any history of unusual moles or skin cancer. If melanoma is confirmed, care may include surgical excision and, depending on the findings, sentinel lymph node biopsy or medicines that act throughout the body.

Seek an appointment promptly for a spot that changes in size, shape, colour, or texture, or for one that repeatedly bleeds, crusts, becomes tender, or fails to heal. Seek urgent medical help for heavy bleeding, rapidly increasing swelling, severe pain, fever, or spreading redness, because those features can signal infection or another acute problem.

Ask whether the mark needs dermoscopy or biopsy, what changes make it concerning, how the breast fold should be cared for after a procedure, and when you will receive the pathology result. If melanoma is diagnosed, ask whether further surgery, lymph-node assessment, imaging, or immunotherapy is appropriate.