Clinical Exam

Everyone should get a full skin examination by a doctor or nurse every year, to look for moles, birthmarks, or other pigmented areas that look abnormal in color, size, shape, or texture.

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Your full skin exam usually includes a visual examination of the skin. Further evaluation of moles or other pigmented areas will most likely be done using a dermascope, a magnifying light instrument used by dermatologists to assist in the diagnosis of malignant skin lesions.

If you have had skin cancer before, you should schedule a skin examination more frequently than once a year. Dermatologists and dermatologic surgeons, who are skin cancer specialists, can often diagnose and treat many skin cancers at an early stage. Ask your doctor how often you should have these skin examinations.