Skin Cancer or Just Eczema?

My skin has these brownish circle-like spots that are kinda fading-y. I read and saw pictures about skin cancer and it looks kinda like it, but not as...bold you can say (it almost blends into my skin color.) I had this for a while, I think. I'm not sure if this is also eczema, which I had since I was three years old. I just went to the dermatologist a month back for a check up on my eczema (I still had these spots on my wrists, which also had my eczema on one area as well), and she didn't say anything about it.











Some help would be appreciated. And to all you doctors/dermatalogists, your opinions would be revered.














I'm a bit nervous.
Skin Cancer or Just Eczema?
Your skin lesions sound most consistent with two possibilities:


1) Ephelides - or freckles - tan-colored oval flat skin markings which increase in number or prominence after exposure to sunshine (see more in summer and on sun-exposed areas).


2) Post-inflammatory pigmentation - in areas where the skin is inflamed (as in eczema), it can develop a darker color when it heals.





Both of these possibilities should pose you no problems.





Brown skin lesions can make people nervous, as they think about melanoma (a bad skin cancer). The ABCD's of melanoma can help in telling if something is suspicious:


A - Asymmetry - if you draw a line down the middle, does one half look different than the other rather than being symmetric?


B - Border - is the border irregular, with notches or scalloping rather than smooth?


C - Color - is the color variable rather than uniform?


D - Diameter - is it larger than the diameter of a pencil eraser?
Skin Cancer or Just Eczema?
You are okay, so please stop worrying. Eczema will cause the skin to become lighter in the places where is has healed. Especially if you are not fair complected, it will be noticable in those areas that have healed.
Reply:If your doctor didn't say anything about it, i suppose that is OK, even though you expect an answer from your doctor. Why don't you go for a second opinion?