Hi, my name is Jessica Dorsey. I am a board-certified dermatologist and fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon and today I’m going to be talking to you about how we diagnose skin cancer.
So, skin cancer is extremely common and it's increasing in its incidence. It affects one in five people. Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the most common types and melanoma is one of the more serious types of skin cancer.
For melanoma, there's a nice mnemonic that we call the ABCDEs of melanoma where A stands for asymmetry meaning the lesion itself will not be symmetrical or mirror image of each side. B stands for border so if you have a spot that has an irregular border you may want to come in and see a board-certified dermatologist for that. C stands for color which means color change within the mole or color variation, so you can have different hues of brown or black or red or blue, etc. D stands for diameter greater than six millimeters or greater than a pencil eraser, and E stands for evolving, so anything that is new, changing, bleeding, itching, symptom change, that would be a clue for you to come in.
If you think you have skin cancer it is important to see a board-certified dermatologist because they have had over three years of specialized training in the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer. If your doctor is suspicious for a skin cancer, they may perform a biopsy and that involves numbing the skin with a local anesthetic and then performing either a shave biopsy or a punch biopsy. A shave biopsy is a thin sliver of the tumor where they can send it off to the lab and have it tested. A punch biopsy goes a little bit deeper and would require usually a few stitches placed.
So, the most common locations for skin cancer are usually going to be your sun-exposed areas. Although they can occur in almost every area of the body your basal cells and your squamous cell carcinomas are more likely to be found on the head such as the nose, the tops of the ears, the scalp, and also the backs of the hands. Your melanomas are going to be found in men usually on the trunk or on the head and neck and then in women more often on the extremities such as the legs and arms. If you have any questions regarding skin cancer, dermatologic surgery, Mohs surgery, or any other skin-related concern, please reach out to the U.S. Dermatology Partners location nearest to you.