DEAR ABBY: Today, I asked a man with a black mole on the side of his face if he had been checked for skin cancer because I come from a family with a great deal of skin cancer. The man was very patronizing and told me I should just go sit down. My husband previously ignored my concerns, but he did listen to a friend who was concerned that his dark mole could be pre-cancerous, which it was.

Was I wrong for bringing this to the stranger’s attention? — PROACTIVE IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR PROACTIVE: If you said it in the context of explaining that your husband had something similar that turned out to be cancerous, I don’t think what you did was wrong. It may have been presumptuous but it was also well-intentioned.

He may have reacted the way he did because it made him self-conscious.

Read more Dear Abby and other advice columns.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.