Skin Cancer Screenings

Skin cancer screenings are an important part of prevention and treatment. Though the incidence of skin cancer is increasing across the nation, if caught early it is one of the most treatable forms of cancer. All the more important to get screened for skin cancer once a year.

What is a skin cancer screening?

Once you make an appointment for a skin assessment, you will receive forms to complete that will give us information about your previous health related problems as well as your history of sun exposure and factors that may place you at risk for developing skin cancer. Please complete these forms and bring them with you to your first appointment.

Unless you are being referred directly by your primary care provider for biopsy of a lesion, you will first have an appointment with the nurse practitioner or physician, who will perform a total body skin assessment.

Based on this assessment, it will be determined whether you need a biopsy. A biopsy may be done that day or you may be asked to return in one to two weeks to see one of the surgeons for an excisional biopsy.

Note: Because the focus of this clinic is early detection of skin cancer, we ask that if you have made an appointment due to a rash, acne, or other chronic skin condition, please cancel the appointment and see a dermatologist or your primary care provider.

What do doctors look for during a skin cancer screening?

The Skin Cancer Assessment Clinic provides a comprehensive skin assessment to check for any potentially cancerous lesion. Our goal is to provide early detection of both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. Moles are checked for several suspicious characteristics:

Asymmetry – where one half of a mole does not resemble the other
Border – irregularity where the edges of a mole are ragged and not uniform
Color – pigmentation is not uniform, shades of tan, brown and black are present and the appearance
of the mole may be mottled
Diameter – the mole or skin growth is larger than 6 millimeters or about the size of a pencil eraser
Evolving – a mole that is changing in any way

Other signs doctors look for:

• Oozing, bleeding or scaling
• Redness or irritation in the skin
• Tingling, itching or burning around the mole
• Brittleness or small pieces of the mole breaking off

After your appointment

At the end of this appointment, the nurse practitioner will set up a follow-up appointment for you. Based on your need, this may include a referral to a dermatologist for non-cancerous skin conditions or suggestion to see your primary care provider.

We encourage you to do a bi-monthly self-skin survey at home to look for any further change in lesions. This may require help from a spouse or friend to be able to visualize areas you cannot easily see.