Dr. Melanie Palm: How to Detect a Melanoma ... The "Ugly Ducking" Sign and ABCDE Rule.

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]What in the world is an ugly duckling?

[00:00:01]We talk a lot about ABCDE's of melanoma, but I tell patients that ugly duckling sign is a sure fire way to identify something that's maybe going wrong. You take a look at this spot right here, you might think maybe it's a funny mole or sunspot. It actually is a melanoma, it's the ugly duckling, which basically means it's the thing that doesn't belong. It doesn't look like the other moles, it doesn't look like your sunspots. So, something you can do at home that I think is practical and easy in addition to the ABCDE's, which is asymmetry, border, color, diameter, is the evolution. So, it's something new or changing, which typically tends to be this ugly duckling. The one that doesn't belong, the one that's doing something different out in the corner, the one that's dark, the one that's sensitive, the one that's itchy, the one that believes. We want to know about that right away. It's a good way to identify something that's going wrong, and it's the reason that you need to call a board-certified dermatologist. So, Tally, do you have something going on with your skin that you would consider the ugly duckling, and what was the story on it? I'd love to know, drop a comment below.