How to Perform a Skin Self-Check
Knowing your skin could help you detect skin cancer early.
The first sign of a melanoma is often a new spot or a change in an existing mole, freckle or spot. This is why becoming familiar with your own skin and checking it regularly is an important part of skin cancer awareness.
The Melanoma Institute Australia recommends getting to know your skin and seeking medical advice if you notice anything new or changing.
A skin self-check doesn't need to be complicated. With a well-lit room, a full-length mirror and a hand-held mirror, you can systematically examine your skin from head to toe.
When should you check your skin?
There isn't a single checking schedule that is right for everyone. Your skin cancer clinician can advise you about how often you should perform a self-check based on your individual risk factors.
The important thing is to become familiar with what is normal for your skin, so you are more likely to notice when something changes.
Taking photographs of your skin every few months can also be helpful. Comparing photographs over time can make subtle changes easier to identify.
A skin self-check only takes a few minutes, but it can help you become familiar with your skin and recognise changes that might otherwise go unnoticed.
How to perform a full skin self-check
The easiest way to make sure you don't miss anything is to follow the same routine every time.
1. Start with your scalp
Use a brush or comb to part your hair into sections and examine your scalp.
Your scalp can be difficult to see, so don't hesitate to ask someone you trust to help.
2. Check your face, ears and neck
Using a mirror, carefully examine:
Your face
Around your eyes
Your ears and behind your ears
Your neck
Your lips
Your nostrils
Don't just look for dark moles. Melanomas can be brown, black, pink, red, skin-coloured or a combination of colours.
3. Examine your arms and hands
Check the entire surface of both arms, including:
The front and back of your arms
Your elbows
Your forearms
Your wrists
The backs of your hands
Between your fingers
Your fingernails and nail beds
Remember to check underneath your arms as well.
4. Check your chest, abdomen and sides
Stand in front of a full-length mirror and examine the front of your body.
Then raise your arms and check the skin along your sides.
Make sure you examine the skin underneath your breasts and around them too.
5. Check your back
Your back is one of the easiest areas to miss because you can't see it easily.
Use a hand-held mirror, or ask your partner or a family member to check your back for you.
Ask them to look for new spots or anything that appears different from the surrounding skin.
6. Check your buttocks and legs
Continue down your body, checking:
Buttocks
Hips
Groin area
Thighs
Knees
Lower legs
Ankles
Make sure you check both the front and back of your legs.
7. Don't forget your feet
Carefully examine:
The tops of your feet
The soles of your feet
Between your toes
Your toenails and nail beds
It's important to check areas that don't normally receive much sun exposure. Melanoma can occur on skin that isn't routinely exposed to the sun.
What should you look for?
Some melanomas may not show the classic ABCDE features, so any new or changing spot deserves attention.
While the ABCDE guide is useful, it is important not to rely on it alone.
Sometimes the most useful clue is simply that one spot looks different from the others.
This is often described as the "ugly duckling" sign.
For example, if most of your moles are small, evenly coloured and similar in appearance, but one spot looks noticeably different, it is worth getting it checked.
Some melanomas can be pink, red or skin-coloured and may not have obvious pigmentation or classic ABCDE features.
Take photographs to help monitor your skin
If you have lots of moles or freckles, it can be difficult to remember exactly what they looked like a few months ago.
Taking photographs can help.
Try to:
Take photographs in good lighting.
Use the same position and angle each time.
Include enough surrounding skin to identify where the spot is located.
Take close-up photographs of individual spots you are monitoring.
Compare your photographs over time.
The Melanoma Institute of Australia recommends taking photographs every few months as a way of helping identify changes.
If you notice a spot that is growing or changing, don't wait for your next routine check—seek medical advice.
What if you find something you're worried about?
Try not to panic!
Make an appointment with your skin cancer clinician for assessment.
A skin cancer clinician can examine the lesion more closely and will check the spot using a dermatoscope, which allows structures beneath the surface of the skin to be assessed that aren't visible to the naked eye.
A self-check is not a substitute for a professional skin check
Checking your own skin is an important part of looking after your skin, but it isn't perfect.
Some melanomas can be subtle and may not display the classic ABCDE warning signs. Trained healthcare professionals can use dermoscopy and other techniques to identify features that may be difficult to recognise with the naked eye.
If you are at increased risk of melanoma, talk to your doctor about whether you should have regular professional skin examinations and how frequently they are appropriate for you.
Remember: Know the skin you're in
Know your skin. Check your skin. If something changes, get it checked.
Are you concerned about any spots on your body? Has it been more than 12 months since your last skin check?
Head on over to our website https://www.gawlerbarossaskincancerclinic.com.au/
There you can read more about our Doctors and melanographer, see our pricing structure and book in your skin check.
Or give us a call on (08) 75579611
We can’t wait to meet you.
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