A skin screening is a 10-minute head-to-toe visual exam with a dermatoscope - suspicious spots get photographed, watched, or biopsied. Only a biopsy diagnoses skin cancer.
What to do
Common questions
What happens at a skin cancer screening?
A skin cancer screening is simpler than people fear: a dermatologist examines your skin head to toe, including your scalp, between toes, and soles - you will be in a gown, and the exam takes about ten minutes. They use a dermatoscope, a lighted magnifier that reveals patterns invisible to the naked eye, and they are looking for the signatures: new or changing moles, the ABCDE pattern - asymmetry, border irregularity, color variation, diameter over 6mm, and evolution - plus non-healing sores, pearly bumps, and rough scaly patches, the faces of basal and squamous cell cancers. NCI's screening guidance notes the exam is the standard first-line check. If something looks suspicious: the next step is usually photographing it, measuring it, and either scheduling a short-interval recheck or taking a biopsy - a quick numbed shave or punch sample sent to pathology, which is the only way skin cancer is actually diagnosed. Most biopsied spots come back benign. Who should book one: anyone with a concerning spot - do not wait for an annual ritual; people with fair skin, heavy sun history, many moles, family melanoma history, or past skin cancer on a regular schedule; and everyone else at intervals their dermatologist sets. Monthly self-checks in a mirror, back included with a hand mirror, are the between-visit surveillance. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text. Describe the spot you are watching, and it can help you judge the urgency.