Patient education
Skin self-check guide
Most skin cancers are highly treatable when found early. Most adults benefit from a yearly skin exam; your provider may recommend more frequent checks if you’ve had skin cancer or have many moles. Check your own skin once a month.
The ABCDEs of melanoma
Asymmetry
One half of the spot does not match the other.
Border
Edges are irregular, ragged, notched or blurred.
Color
Uneven color: shades of brown, black, tan, red, white or blue.
Diameter
Larger than about 6 mm (a pencil eraser), though melanomas can be smaller.
Evolving
Any change in size, shape or color, or new itching, bleeding or crusting.
Also watch for the “ugly duckling”: a spot that looks different from your other moles, a sore that does not heal, or a shiny, pearly or scaly growth.
Step-by-step self exam
The best time is after a bath or shower, in a well-lit room with a full-length mirror and a hand mirror.
- Face the mirror. Check your face, ears, neck, chest and belly. Women should check under the breasts.
- Arms and hands. Check both sides of your arms, underarms, the tops and palms of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails.
- Sit down. Check the front of your thighs, shins, tops of your feet, between your toes and under the toenails. Then check the soles, calves and backs of your thighs with a hand mirror.
- Stand up. Use the hand mirror to check your buttocks, genital area, lower and upper back and the back of your neck.
- Scalp. Part your hair in sections, or ask someone to help, and check your scalp.
- Record. Mark any spots on the body map below and note the date, so you can compare next month.
Your body map
| Location | Date | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
When to call a dermatologist
- A new spot, especially after age 30
- A mole that is changing in size, shape or color
- A spot that itches, bleeds, crusts or will not heal within a few weeks
- Any spot that matches the ABCDE warning signs or looks different from your others