What chest ‘freckles’ can mean

Rebecca Hockaday noticed the spot on her breast toward the end of summer.

“I thought, okay, a freckle on my chest. I’ve been out in the sun, no big deal,” the Georgia mother of two remembered thinking.

But then a few more popped up, appearing as if the first one had spread. Several months later, Hockaday made an appointment with her dermatologist.

Rebecca Hockaday, with her husband, Gregg, and their two kids, while she underwent breast cancer treatment. Courtesy of Rebecca Hockaday

“Honestly, I thought they were sun spots. I thought they were going to say, ‘just your skin aging,’” she told TODAY. “Never in a million years did I think, okay, this is going to be cancer.”

A biopsy revealed that Hockaday, who was 35 at the time, had inflammatory breast cancer, a rare and aggressive form of the disease. The cancer had already spread to her lymph nodes by the time it was diagnosed, she said.

Inflammatory breast cancer, or IBC, doesn’t present itself like common forms of the disease, which is usually detected through a lump in the breast or a mammogram, said Dr. Jean Wright of the Johns Hopkins Breast Cancer Program.

“Half the time there’s no lump or anything like that. It’s just the kind of skin changes, and so it can relatively easily be mistaken for an infection, mastitis or something like that,” she said.

Redness or swelling of the breast are the usual hallmark for IBC. Sometimes, the skin may appear somewhat dimpled like an orange peel.

IBC makes up less than 2 percent of all breast cancer, said Wright, an associate professor of radiation oncology at Johns Hopkins.

“The most characteristic thing is that it happens very quickly. It’s usually within one month you notice these significant changes in the skin of (the) breast,” she said.

Hockaday underwent 16 weeks of chemotherapy before having surgery to remove both of her breasts. She then endured an intense radiation schedule that involved twice-daily treatments every weekday. The radiation damaged her skin and weakened her body, resulting in several broken ribs.

Hockaday rings the bell, indicating the end of her active cancer treatment.Courtesy of Rebecca Hockaday

She was declared cancer-free in September 2013, 10 months after she first started treatment. But she continued to deal with various health problems from infections related to breast reconstruction surgery that followed.

Dermatologist Cameron Rokhsar said women’s breasts can be a common area for irritation, whether from breastfeeding or from running-related chafing. But a woman should definitely contact her doctor if an irritation fails to improve or go away.

“If women see a rash on their breast that doesn’t go away within one to two weeks, especially after the use of a cortisone cream, then they should see their dermatologist,” said Rokhsar, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Rokhsar recommended seeing a dermatologist because they are more trained than primary care physicians to identify specific rashes or anything unusual on the skin, regardless of where the affected area might be.

“It’s really important that the public knows that not all rashes are trivial, especially when it comes to rashes on the breast, on the penis, or anus,” he said.

Hockaday says she tries to share her story whenever possible to alert other women about the warnings signs of inflammatory breast cancer. Courtesy of Rebecca Hockaday

Because of the high rate of recurrence for inflammatory breast cancer, Hockaday, now 40, takes oral chemotherapy and receives monthly injections.

She shares her story and experience whenever possible to raise awareness about IBC and encourage women to be proactive about anything unusual they notice with their bodies.

“You just do not think that something (that looks) so innocent can turn out this way. I had no pain, I had no symptoms,” she said.

A former executive of a medical company, Hockaday has since changed jobs and now works from home and slowed down her lifestyle so she can spend more time with her husband, Gregg and their two children.

“If I can keep anybody else from going through what I went through, it would mean the world to me,” she said. “I hope that myself or anybody else who has gone through this can educate and raise awareness because moms tend to put ourselves last and we really need to put ourselves first.”

Follow Eun Kyung Kim on Twitter or Facebook.

Moles, Freckles, and Skin Tags: Types, Causes, Treatments

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

• Freckles and Your Skin
• Do Freckles Need to Be Treated?
• What Causes Freckles?
• Lentigines (Liver Spots) and Your Skin
• Can Lentigines Be Prevented?
• How Are Lentigines Treated?
• What Causes Lentigines?
• Skin Tags and Your Skin
• How Are Skin Tags Treated?
• Moles and Your Skin
• How Do I Know if a Mole Is Cancer?
• How Are Moles Treated?
• Types of Moles
• What Causes a Mole?
• Seborrheic Keratoses and Your Skin
• What Causes Seborrheic Keratoses?
• How Are Seborrheic Keratoses Treated?
• More

There are several skin lesions that are very common and benign (noncancerous). These conditions include moles, freckles, skin tags, benign lentigines (liver spots), and seborrheic keratoses.

Freckles are small brown spots usually found on the face, neck, chest, and arms. Freckles are extremely common and are not a health threat. They are more often seen in the summer, especially among lighter-skinned people and people with light or red hair.

Since freckles are almost always harmless, there is no need to treat them. As with many skin conditions, it’s best to avoid the sun as much as possible, or use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF (sun protection factor) of at least 30. This is especially important because people who freckle easily (for example, lighter-skinned people) are more likely to get skin cancer.

If you feel that your freckles are a problem or you don’t like the way they look, you can cover them up with makeup or consider certain types of laser treatment, liquid nitrogen treatment, or chemical peels.

Causes of freckles include genetics and exposure to the sun.

A lentigo (plural: lentigines) is a spot on the skin that is darker (usually brown) than the surrounding skin. Lentigines are more common among White people, especially those with fair skin. They’re often called liver spots. 

The best way to prevent lentigines is to stay out of the sun as much as possible, especially between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher when outdoors, and wear protective clothing, such as long-sleeved shirts, pants, and a wide-brimmed hat. Avoid using tanning beds.

There are several methods for treating lentigines:

• Cryosurgery (freezing them off)
• Laser surgery
• Skin creams such as retinoids and bleaching agents

Exposure to the sun seems to be the major cause of lentigines. Lentigines most often appear on parts of the body that get the most sun, including the face and hands. Some lentigines may be caused by genetics (family history) or by medical procedures such as radiation therapy.

A skin tag is a small flap of tissue that hangs off the skin by a connecting stalk. Skin tags are not dangerous. They are usually found on the neck, chest, back, armpits, under the breasts, or in the groin area. Skin tags appear most often in women, especially with weight gain, and in people in middle age and older.

Skin tags usually don’t cause any pain. But they can become irritated if things like clothing, jewelry, or skin rub against them.

Your dermatologist can remove a skin tag by cutting it off with a scalpel or scissors, with cryosurgery (freezing it off), or with electrosurgery (burning it off with an electric current).

Moles are growths on the skin that are usually brown or black. Moles can appear anywhere on the skin, alone or in groups.

Most moles appear in early childhood and during the first 25 years of a person’s life. It is normal to have between 10 and 40 moles by adulthood.

As the years pass, moles usually change slowly, becoming raised and/or changing color. Sometimes, hairs develop in the mole. Some moles may not change at all, while others may slowly disappear over time.

The vast majority of moles are not dangerous. Moles that are more likely to be cancer are those that look different than other existing moles or those that first appear after age 25. If you notice changes in a mole’s color, height, size, or shape, you should have a dermatologist (skin doctor) evaluate it. You also should have moles checked if they bleed, ooze, itch, or become tender or painful.

Examine your skin with a mirror or ask someone to help you. Pay special attention to areas of the skin that are often exposed to the sun, such as the hands, arms, chest, neck, face, ears, legs, and back.

If a mole does not change over time, there is little reason for concern. If you see any signs of change in an existing mole, if you have a new mole, or if you want a mole to be removed for cosmetic reasons, talk to your dermatologist.

The following ABCDEs are important things to consider when examining moles. If a mole displays any of the signs listed below, have it checked by a dermatologist right away. It could be cancerous.

• Asymmetry. One half of the mole does not match the other half.
• Border. The border or edges of the mole are ragged, blurred, or irregular.
• Color. The color of the mole is not the same throughout, or the mole has shades of tan, brown, black, blue, white, or red.
• Diameter. The diameter of a mole is larger than the eraser of a pencil.
• Evolution. The mole is changing in size, shape, or color.

Melanoma is a form of skin cancer. The most common places for melanoma in men is the chest and back. For women, the most common place is the lower leg. Melanoma is the most common cancer in young women.

If a dermatologist believes a mole needs further study, they will do a biopsy by shaving or cutting out the entire spot so that it can be looked at under a microscope. This is a simple procedure. (If the dermatologist thinks the mole might be cancerous, cutting through the mole will not cause the cancer to spread. )

If the mole is found to be cancerous, the dermatologist will cut out the entire mole or scar from the biopsy site by cutting out the entire area and a rim of normal skin around it, and stitching the wound closed.

Congenital nevi are moles that are present at birth. Congenital nevi occur in about one in 100 people. These moles are slightly more likely to turn into melanoma   (cancer) than are moles that appear after birth. A mole or freckle should be checked if it has a diameter of more than a pencil eraser or any traits of the ABCDEs of melanoma (see above).

Dysplastic nevi are moles that are generally larger than average (larger than a pencil eraser) and irregular in shape. They tend to have uneven color with dark brown centers and lighter, uneven edges. These nevi are somewhat more likely to become melanoma. In fact, people who have 10 or more dysplastic nevi have a 12 times higher chance of melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer. Any changes in a mole should be checked by a dermatologist to evaluate for skin cancer.

Moles occur when cells in the skin grow in a cluster instead of being spread throughout the skin. These cells are called melanocytes, and they make the pigment that gives skin its natural color. Moles may darken after exposure to the sun, during the teen years, and during pregnancy.

Seborrheic keratoses are brown or black growths usually found on the chest and back, as well as on the head. They originate from cells called keratinocytes. As they develop, seborrheic keratoses take on a warty appearance. They do not normally lead to skin cancer.

The cause of seborrheic keratoses is unknown. They are seen more often as people get older.

Seborrheic keratoses are harmless and are not contagious. Therefore, they don’t need to be treated.

If you decide to have seborrheic keratoses removed because you don’t like the way they look, or because they are chronically irritated by clothing, methods for removing them include cutting them off, cryosurgery, and electrosurgery.

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Freckles and solar lentigo – clinic “Family Doctor”.

In the Middle Ages, age spots on the face were considered the mark of the devil and served as a reason for suspicion of witchcraft. Over the past century, the point of view on age spots has changed significantly. Currently, freckles and solar lentigo on the face are explained by completely different mechanisms than another contract signed with blood with dark forces.

Freckles (ephelids) are usually spots with a diameter of 1-2 mm, (but there are more), from yellow to brown, observed in people with fair skin and blue eyes (mainly 1st and 2nd phototypes). Freckles appear at 2-3 years of age, then their number increases to a maximum in adolescence. Then, with age, the number of freckles decreases, and by old age they can completely disappear. Freckles are most commonly found on the face, arms, neck, and chest, and may become darker in summer. Freckles can even be located on the lips, but they are no longer on the oral mucosa.

The predisposition to freckles is an innate property of the skin associated with a higher ability of some melanocytes to produce melanin. Whether freckles appear or not depends on several genes (MC1R, IRF4, ASIP, TYR and BNC2), among which the MC1R gene is associated with pale skin and contributes the most to the formation of freckles. The presence of freckles is an indicator that the skin is sensitive to sunlight. A number of studies have shown that people with freckles are more likely to develop skin photodamage and melanoma. But at the same time, the freckles themselves never turn into skin tumors.

Freckles are treated for cosmetic reasons only. The methods of the ancient inhabitants of the Carpathians – washing in running water and repeating conspiracies – are somewhat outdated and disappointed doctors. Currently, bleaching and exfoliating agents are used for this purpose. Some berries and fruits (red currant, lemon, etc.) used in various masks give a whitening effect. In a beauty parlor, superficial and deep peels, cryomassage, and phototherapy are used. Prevention of freckles involves the use of sunscreen.

Solar lentigo (senile lentigo, actinic lentigo, adult freckles, liver spots) are benign pigment spots that appear on sun-exposed areas of the skin. Initially, their size does not exceed 5 mm in diameter, but in the future it can increase, and such spots can merge into large foci. The color of the solar lentigo is usually brown and the intensity of its color does not change with the season. Long-standing spots gradually turn dark brown. As a rule, solar lentigo appears at the age of 40-50, but it can appear earlier in people who are fond of tanning.

The name “liver spots”, stretching from the depths of centuries, is a so-called myth and has no basis – solar lentigo is not a manifestation of liver disease. The cause of solar lentigo, as the name implies, is the ultraviolet radiation of the sun, as well as relatively recently appeared solariums, while the role of genetic factors is relatively small. Studies have shown that the appearance of solar lentigo depends on the total amount of ultraviolet radiation received by the skin during a lifetime, and on sunburn that has occurred.

For the treatment of solar lentigo, external agents with hydroquinone and tretinoin are used. A whitening effect was noted with the use of liquid nitrogen and peelings with salicylic acid. Prevention of the appearance of solar lentigo is the use of sunscreen and the avoidance of excess ultraviolet radiation.

Prepared information for you:

Betekhtin Mikhail Sergeevich – dermatovenereologist, oncologist, cosmetologist, Ph.D. Conducts reception in the buildings of the clinic on Ozerkovskaya and Usacheva.

“Kisses of the sun”: how to remove freckles?

The sun is shining brightly and you are looking forward to the appearance of annoying freckles on your face, neck, shoulders and décolleté? Don’t be sad! First, freckles are normal and have their benefits. They are associated with youth and carelessness. Secondly, if you wish, you can get rid of them! Read the advice of Perfectoria experts on how to do it right and whether you need to get rid of freckles.

Freckles – age spots

Freckles (ephelids) are purely cosmetic, they do not pose any threat to health . These are small pigment spots of yellow or yellowish-brown color, which are located on open areas of the skin: face, neck, décolleté. Freckles often become an important part of the image, they give a special charm, femininity and cuteness, as well as a share of immediacy. There are even video tutorials on adding cannabis in photoshop to photos, and with the help of bronze powder and eyebrow pencil – for the offline option.

Ephelids appear in blondes and redheads, with blue and green eyes. The very first ones – at the age of 4-5 years, reach a maximum in adolescence, and after 30 years they can disappear altogether. The tendency to have freckles is inherited along with the skin phototype, which also implies a greater vulnerability to the negative effects of the sun, so people with freckles on the face should use photoprotection and have an annual examination with a dermatologist or dermatologist-oncologist. Ephelids begin to appear in spring and disappear in autumn along with a decrease in solar activity. If suddenly in adulthood you have freckles, this is an occasion to see a doctor for an examination.

Question: get rid of freckles or not?

Fight against the “kisses of the sun” or not – only you decide. To get rid of freckles, there are folk and cosmetic products, hardware cosmetic procedures. Folk remedies for lightening are the juice of parsley, lemon, cucumber, berries (strawberries, red currants), kefir in the form of rubs, infusions or masks. They are applied in the evening, and in the morning they do not forget about sunscreen, otherwise you risk becoming the owner of stubborn age spots.

Cosmetologists offer many options for solving the problem of freckles:

• laser
• phototherapy
• chemical peeling
• whitening with special creams

Serums, masks, creams for freckles and more

Cosmetic products with a whitening effect include, for example , Refreshing brightening mask Anna Lotan and a series of products Depiderm from Uriage. Apply the mask 1-2 times a week (in the evening), avoiding the area around the eyes, and in the morning do not forget about photoprotection to improve the effect of lightening freckles. Gamma Depiderm contains a serum, a day and night cream, an anti-pigmentation cream for the eye area, as well as a mousse for washing and even a hand cream. It is the hands that often give away your age, and the pigmentation on the hands ages them even more – do not forget to take care of not only your face.

A significant disadvantage of almost any technique is that it can contribute to dry skin and the appearance of wrinkles. To compensate for this effect, a moisturizing component is usually added to the freckle whitening cream. Additional moisturizing care is recommended if dryness is still felt.

Warn, don’t fight

Use sunscreen for skin (do not forget about lip sticks), sunglasses. A remedy with a double effect that will both protect and get rid of existing freckles – Dermedik Melumin against pigmentation. At the same time, Aven Toning Sun Fluid will help protect the skin and give it an even shade, slightly hiding freckles. avoid the peak of solar activity from 11 am to 4 pm.