Skin Cancer?

[Goose337]

36 year old female - white - blonde - fair. I have always had several moles - mostly brown and flat with 5-10 larger raised ones for many years.  Since having 2 children in the past 5 years, I have had several new moles form each year.  The new ones are darker brown and flat and fairly small - but in new places, like the forearms and back of thighs.  Recently I have had a few tiny BLACK dots arise on my upper thighs out of nowhere.  They look like pepper flakes and are truly darker than any other marks I have.  They are fixed in place and can not be easily rubbed off or scraped with a fingernail.  They seem only slightly raised - like a scab - but are obviously better attached.  I have picked at 2 of them with tweezers and scraped them off with minimal bleeding (seems like a black scab when off)  After a few days, the skin seems to return to normal.  If it were serious, would the black return or could something just be happening under the skin now?  The skin all around is healthy - no infection or itching with the black spots. They are not pimples, hair follicles or inflamed in any way.  It is the black color that worries me the most. They are so small - but a friend said he had a pinhead sized black mark and had to have half the skin from his chest removed because it was melanoma.  Can melanoma this small be detected by a dermatologist or GP or do I just need to leave them and see if they grow taller (one of the ones I picked at was more raised - it was on my back thigh and I did not realize what it was until I scraped it off)
Can melanoma develop in a few spots close together?  How would it react after picking it off?
Thanks

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

Hi,
Firstly, you should never squeeze or use a tweezer on a skin lesion. Anyhow, having done so, you found that the black "spot" came right out, and looked like a scab. The skin quickly healed normally at that place.
From your description, I think that this is unlikely to be melanoma or other skin cancer. These tiny multiple black marks on both your thighs may have been blackheads. However, I encourage you to visit your dermatologist early for a thorough skin examination if only to be sure that all is ok. Please keep me posted.
Very fair blonds are more at risk for developing certain types of skin cancers, especially if they have been exposed to the sun a lot.
All the best, and God Bless!

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

Hi,
It is near-impossible to easily remove a melanoma completely at home with tweezers.
Melanoma is a skin cancer that infiltrates and grows within the substance of the skin, hence will not be easy to scrape off like a scab. It requires surgery, where skin is cut and removed.
Jet black lesions should be checked by a skin doctor. But dont panic. I think that these are more likely to be benign in your case. Pl let me know how your skin consult goes. Good luck!

[Goose337]

What would happen to an early melanoma that was removed at home?  Would there be other signs that something was wrong?  Should I be more concerned that the spots are jet black?
I promise not to touch the other spots with tweezers!
Thanks