Melanoma or not.

Interesting comments recently on skin cancer detection.

That also is the view of Dr. A. Bernard Ackerman, emeritus director of the Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology in New York. Dermatologists have gone too far, he said, with screening clinics, removing innocuous moles and diagnosing melanoma too freely.

It makes sense for a doctor to look at your skin during a regular physical exam, Dr. Ackerman said, but screening programs have led to an excessive zeal for skin biopsies and for diagnosing melanoma.

"There has been a mania for taking off these moles that are of no consequence," Dr. Ackerman said. "We're talking about billions and billions of dollars being spent, based on hype."

I remember about 10 or 15 years ago I had a large irregularly shaped mole between my big toe and the next toe. I suppose if I had made regular visits to a doctor, it would have been deemed precancerous and cut out with the accompanying expense and stress and increased life insurance premiums.

Sometime later I noticed it was gone.