Early and accurate diagnosis is essential to melanoma care and successful treatment. Our team of skin cancer experts uses sophisticated pathology and imaging tests to ensure you get the right diagnosis and to personalize your care.
In addition to practicing sun safety, it’s important to do regular skin self-exams to find potential melanoma early. To do a self-exam, stand in front of a full-length mirror in a brightly lit room. Check all areas of your body, assessing any moles and lesions using the“A-B-C-D-E Rule.”Have another person check your scalp and back of your neck.
If you’re at high risk for melanoma due to family history, many atypical moles or precancerous lesions (actinic keratosis) or past skin cancer, your doctor may recommend additional testing.
Most melanomas are brought to a doctor’s attention because a patient has noticedsigns or symptoms. To verify melanoma, you will need to see a dermatologist, a doctor who specializes in the skin. The dermatologist will ask you questions about your medical history, do a physical examination and may perform a skin biopsy. If the skin biopsy results show melanoma, other tests may be done to determine if it has spread to other parts of the body.
In its early stages, melanoma is highly treatable – but it must be addressed quickly. If you ever see a new mole or a suspicious mark on your skin, have it looked by a dermatologist.
According to the American Cancer Society, melanoma found in early stages can have up to a 98% survival rate. This year, it’s estimated more than 207,000 cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in the United States, of which about 101,000 cases will be non-invasive, confined to the top layer of skin (in situ).
Doctors use staging to identify if and how far skin cancer has spread. This is an important step in diagnosis as it helps your doctor determine what treatments will work best for you. Staging takes place after the diagnosis is confirmed and the type of melanoma is identified. Melanoma staging is based on tumor thickness, ulceration, location and spread to lymph nodes or other organs.