Are You Doing Skin Cancer Self-Checks All Wrong?

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, so the chances that you know someone with it or that you’ll be diagnosed with it yourself are higher than for other cancers. That sounds scary, but it’s also a cancer that you have decent chances of spotting yourself at home—and early detection can significantly increase your chances of successful treatment.

Given how important early diagnosis is for people with skin cancer, dermatologists stress the importance of monthly skin self-checks between provider check-ups. But some people may not do them correctly, or may misinterpret the information they get about their skin health from self-checks.

A small recent study included 260 people with suspected cancerous lesions on their skin. Of those lesions, 31.9% turned out to be malignant melanoma—a deadly type of skin cancer. However, only 21.7% of the participants who were diagnosed with malignant melanoma had been worried that the suspicious lesion could actually be a malignant melanoma.

While the study has not yet been replicated by other researchers, Mike Climstein, PhDfirst author of the study and an associate professor at Southern Cross University in Australia, said that the findings have worldwide implications, especially in places where melanoma skin cancer is highly prevalent.

When and Why to Do Skin Self-Checks

Systematically and regularly evaluating your skin at home can help you become familiar with moles and lesions you’ve had for a long time, Rachel Nazarian, MDa board-certified dermatologist practicing in New York City, told Verywell. Knowing what your skin’s “normal” is can make it easier to notice subtle changes or new growths that would require the attention of a dermatologist.

Self-checks are even more important if you’ve had a skin cancer diagnosis before or are at high risk for it, Erum N. Ilyas, MD, MBE, FAADa board-certified dermatologist at the Schweiger Dermatology Group in Pennsylvania, told Verywell.

“Early skin cancer detection is the key to best outcomes,” said Illyas.

While you can get your skin checked at a routine annual screening with a dermatologist, Ilyas recommends going more often if you can. At an annual check-up, your provider only sees moles and skin lesions at a single point in time, so some crucial information is missing. The one thing providers “cannot witness is change, which is one of the most important criteria when it comes to early detection of skin cancer,” she said.

The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends a head-to-toe examination every month for people of all ages. However, if you have a family history of skin cancer, Ilyas suggests partnering with a family member, spouse, or friend to help you get a better look at areas of your skin you can’t easily see yourself—like the ears, back of the neck, and scalp.

Do Self-Checks Actually Help Spot Skin Cancer Early?

Whether or not a skin self-check will help spot cancer early depends on a lot of factors, like the type of cancer it is and how the check is done.

Some experts believe that self-checks can be effective when they’re done regularly and correctly. “About half of melanomas are found by patients,” said IIyas. Nazarian added that more education is needed to train patients on what they should be looking for when they’re doing skin cancer self-checks at home.

Other experts aren’t sure that doing skin checks at home is consistently helpful. A 2019 study looking at the effectiveness of skin self-examination for early detection of skin cancers found that some interventions may be helpful—but according to Climstein, research suggests that self-skin checks have limited accuracy.

How to Do a Skin Cancer Self-Check Correctly

There’s no standard procedure for a skin cancer self-check, but IIyas recommends starting with your face and working your way across your neck, back, chest, arms, and legs. It’s also helpful to take photos to make it easier to track changes over time.

“Make an album in your phone dedicated to your moles and consider taking a post-it and including it in the photo with a stick figure diagram, showing the location of the mole and the date the image was taken to keep track easily,” said IIyas.

“I recommend patients look for any new or changing moles, any spots that are bleeding or not healing,” said Nazarian. “When in doubt, reach out to the dermatologist.”

If you are worried about a skin lesion, you should get evaluated in person by a dermatologist who can use dermoscopy to get a closer look. While any photos you take can be sent to a dermatologist, the images “cannot confidently rule out skin cancer from a photo,” said IIyas. Nazarian added that poor photo quality may not show details of the lesion.

Skin cancer detection seems to work best when patients partner with their providers to stay on top of their skin health.

“It can be humbling, as I often share with patients that in spite of performing tens of thousands of skin cancer screenings and detecting and treating thousands of cancers and precancers, I find it fascinating how often patients are right when they have detected something about a mole that doesn’t seem right to them,” said Ilyas. “It’s important to have this two-way trust—if either a doctor or patient feels that a mole should be evaluated, we should work together to catch cancer early.”