How To Do a Skin Self Exam

Think you are too young to get skin cancer? You're not. In fact, it is important that everyone perform a monthly self skin check. How important? Consider this:

* 1 in every 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.

* Melanoma is the most common cancer in 25 to 29 year-olds.

* Melanoma is the second most common form of cancer in adolescents and young adults, ages 15 to 29.

* Melanomas are increasing faster in 15 to 29 year-old females than in males.

* Melanoma is highly curable when detected and treated early.

Skin cancer is there for everyone to see, including you. Every day patients come to me after detecting skin cancer during their own skin self exams. It only takes a few minutes and a couple of mirrors to look over yourself.

For a full body skin check, you will need:

* A full length mirror

* A hand mirror

* A hair dryer

* A body map to mark any moles you have (visit the the American Academy of Dermatology website at aad.org to access one). When you repeat your skin exam, compare it to your previous notes.

Here are the steps that compose a complete self skin check:

1. Start with your scalp. Use a hair dryer to blow the hair apart to examine your scalp section by section.

2. Examine your face, especially your nose and lips. Basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas favor these areas.

3. Examine your hands and arms. Start with your fingertips and work along your arms up to your trunk. Look at your fingernails as well. Brown or black spots or streaks can be melanoma.

4. Use the full mirror to check your back, including the back of your arms and legs.

5. Examine the front of your neck, chest and abdomen. Women should lift each breast to check underneath.

6. Use the hand mirror to check the back of your shoulders, arms, underarms, buttocks and legs.

7. Sit down to exam the front of your legs.

8. Check your feet, including the bottoms, between the toes and toenails (like you do your fingernails).

Remember you are looking for a mole that has:

* Asymmetry - a mole that is different on one side compared to the other.

* Border irregularity - ragged rather than smooth, even borders.

* Color variation - only one color is allowed. Two or three colors in the same mole might be a sign of skin cancer.

* Diameter - larger than six millimeters (larger than a pencil eraser).

* Evolution - that is, a mole that has changed over time. Consider taking digital photos of your moles and saving them. When you repeat your skin exam, you can compare your moles to the photos to see if there have been any changes.

Any wound or growth that bleeds or does not heal over two weeks or any thick, scaly growth should also be examined by a dermatologist, as these also may be signs of skin cancer.