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Your Guide to
the Perfect Skin Self-Exam
(October 1998)
Examining you skin frequently can lead to early skin cancer diagnosis. If detected early, most skin cancers can be cured. The trick to self-exams is to make sure you check your whole body thoroughly, not missing any areas. Some melanomas will occur even where the sun doesn’t reach. Here’s how to check yourself:
In a brightly lit room, in front of a full-length mirror:
- Examine your body - front and back - in the mirror, then inspect your right and left sides with your arms raised.
- Bend your elbows and look carefully at your forearms, upper underarms and palms.
- Look at the backs of your legs and feet, including between your toes and your soles.
- Examine the back of your neck and scalp using a hand mirror. Part your hair for a close look.
- Check your back and buttocks with a hand mirror.
- Ask a partner to help you examine hard-to-see areas
Regular skin self-exams are important. Practice makes perfect with self skin exams, so it is important to do them frequently. This will provide more chances to learn about and become familiar with your own skin. The more familiar you are with your skin and its markings, the more likely you are to notice any changes in your skin.
Dr. Kraffert recommends performing a skin self-exam once a month and, at the very least, once every three months. Skin self-exams are very easy to do and they only take minutes. It is also wise to have a dermatologist exam your skin once a year, particularly if you or anyone in your immediate family has a history of skin cancer.
The vast majority
of all skin cancers including melanomas are curable if they are caught
early. Here is a simple method of checking any moles you may
have for signs of melanoma - simply, it’s like knowing your ABC’s.
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A stands for ASYMMETRY, when one half of the mole doesn’t match the other half. |
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B stands for BORDER, when the border or edges of the mole are ragged, blurred or irregular. |
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C stands for COLOR, when the color of the mole is not the same throughout or if it has shades of tan, brown, black, red, white or blue. |
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D stands for DIAMETER, if the diameter of a mole is larger than the eraser of a pencil. |
If a mole displays any of these signs, it should be checked by a dermatologist. This is particularly important if the mole doesn’t look like surrounding moles and or if it has changed appearance more rapidly than other moles.
Craig Kraffert, M.D.
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