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HOW TO CHECK YOUR SKIN FOR EARLY SIGNS OF MELANOMA

What you need:
Flashlight
Two small chairs or stools
Hand mirror with a long handle
Hairbrush or blow dryer for checking your scalp
Large wall mirror, preferably full-length, in a well-lighted area

 

 

Facing the wall mirror, examine your face including lips, ears, and eyes. Use a flashlight to check inside mouth, nostrils, and ears. Check neck, shoulders, and upper chest. Women should also check under breasts.

Using both mirrors, check behind ears, neck, and upper back. While parting your hair with a dryer or brush, use both mirrors to check your scalp, front - back - sides.

Or have a family member help.

Check your abdomen, front and sides. Use the hand mirror to check mid- and lower back carefully. The back is the most common site of melanomas in males. Use the hand mirror or both mirrors to check all areas of buttocks and genitals, including anus, vaginal area, penis, and testes.

Raise both arms and check all sides of arms and hands, including between fingers and under nails. Then check underarms and sides of upper body.

Sitting on a small chair or stool, prop each leg in turn on another chair or stool. Check all sides of legs from ankles to thighs. Check feet, including tops, heels, soles, between toes, and under toenails. Legs are the most common sites of melanomas in females.
Illustrations by Dermnet of
New Zealand

Click here to download illustrated skin examination instructions.


WHERE ON THE SKIN DOES MELANOMA OCCUR ?

Anywhere, including places never exposed to sun
In white males the most common locations are the back and trunk
In white females the most common locations are the lower legs and trunk
Among Asians, Hispanics, and African Americans the most common locations are the feet and hands

Melanoma Locations in Caucasians
("Trunk" also includes abdomen, back, hip, and shoulders)


Common locations of melanomas in Asians, Hispanics, and African Americans are on the soles of feet, palms, between toes and fingers, and under toenails and fingernails (especially the large toenail and thumbnail). The photo below shows a melanoma under a toenail; this type of melanoma, which also occurs in the Caucasian population, is sometimes mistaken for a nail fungus.


This image is copyright, Dr. J. Ashworth
of www.dermatologist.co.uk

 


WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS
Get examined by a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon within one week. Many primary care doctors cannot be trusted to recognize early melanomas so, if you are required to see a primary care doctor, insist on a referral.
If you are willing (or prefer) to have the suspicious lesion removed, and it is not in a cosmetically sensitive area, skip the dermatologist and make an appointment directly with a general surgeon to remove it.
A lesion that is suspicious for melanoma should be removed by surgical excision, not by shaving, burning, freezing, or other methods. Likewise, unless the suspicious lesion is very large, excisional biopsy is preferable to shaving or punch biopsy. Be certain to make this preference known to your health professional.
Insist on having the pathology examination of the lesion done by a dermatopathology lab (a pathology lab that specializes in diseases of the skin). Some melanomas are difficult to distinguish from atypical moles.

Click here to download a one page summary of what to do if you find a suspicious lesion.

 

 

Next page content:

If You Have Problems Getting an Appointment with A Dermatologist.
If Your Primary Care Physician Won't Give You a Referral.

 

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