Please help melanoma fear

[elvgxnce]

Hi, I have a small black mole that appeared with a couple of other moles during puberty. A year ago, I noticed the mole felt a bit rough and when I rubbed my finger on it black skin flaked off. Ever since then, it'll occassionally do this. New black areas will grow and the mole will get rough/dry and the top layer will eventually peel off. What could be the cause of this? Is this a symptom of melanoma? I searched online and it says a flaking mole could be cancerous and now I'm freaking out.

[jrcoleman]

LOL. I am 53 and have had that exact type of mole on my hand. It has gone from black to white back to black. It flakes, it itches it gets irritated. My father had skin cancer but it didn't show up in his moles, it showed up as big black spot that looked like a bruise. You can have a doctor check it, they can use a magnifying device that will tell them in an office visit, but I think you can probably stop worrying.

[elvgxnce]

Mine doesn't itch or get irritated but its so dark. If I shine a flashlight on it it's a bunch of different shades of brown. I'm just so convinced I have cancer.