Each year, more skin cancers are diagnosed than any other form of cancer. Skin cancer is easy to detect if you examine your skin carefully on a regular basis. You should do everything you can to ensure that skin cancers do not form, in addition to detecting any skin cancers that do appear in your body.

As part of a routine physical your doctor should be examining your skin for any abnormal growths or discolrations. You should also be checking your own skin at least once a month. Checking your skin for skin cancer is quick, easy, and painless.

When you do your first self exam you will want to take your time to really get a good look at your skin and all the different characteristics. Make sure you are in a well lit area with a full length mirror. There will likely be areas that are difficult to see with just one mirror, so have a hand mirror ready to use also. Getting a good look at what your skin looks like now, cancer free, will be the best way to compare future checks when looking for changes in your skin. When examining your skin, take note of anything you hadn’t noticed before.

Start with your face and carefully work your way down the length of your body. You may need help for parts of your body that are hard to reach. Ask your spouse or trusted friend with help for your upper thighs and lower back. You can use a mirror to help you if you have no such assistance available.

Pay particular attention to those areas that receive a lot of exposure to the sun. You are looking for changes in the shape and size of any mole or discoloration in your skin. You can get detailed descriptions of the different types of skin cancers.

Early detection is the key to successfully treating skin cancer. By making sure you are familiar with the regular appearance of your skin, you can take note of the appearance of any moles or other features of your skin. If you notice anything suspicious, show it to your doctor immediately. It might be harmless, but the only way to be certain is to have your doctor check it.

If you are fair skinned you will have to be extra careful with your skin. Make sure that you keep it covered when you are in the sun and always wear sunscreen on your exposed areas. Make use of hats and keep the sun off of your face. Good prevention and skin cancer detection are your best weapons.

Knowing the five signs of skin cancer and the appearance that skin cancer will take on will help you to determine if you should check with your doctor. Always if you notice anything unusual on your skin that you cannot identify you should check with your doctor. The signs of cancer can be broken down by the letters of the alphabet.

A stands for asymmetry, which means the shape of the growth on your skin. Cancer will generally have an irregular shape that is not asymmetrical. You should watch out for the sudden appearance of these types of growths. As you examine your skin on a regular basis you should be aware of any growth that either increases in size or suddenly appears.

From letter B, we need to think about the border of growth.The border of skin cancer cannot be distinguished easily.Lookout for this in any such growth which has appeared on your skin.

“C” stands for color, in that you should monitor the color of any new growths on your skin. This can be one of the five signs of skin cancer, watch our for and beware of red, brown, black, blue, or transulscent growths.

D is for the diameter of the growth. If you have a growth on your skin that is more than a quarter of an inch in diameter you should have it checked out. Growths of this size have a greater chance of becoming cancerous.

“E” is for the elevation of any new growth. Growths with elevated or uneven edges can be be a sign of skin cancer. Carefully monitor your skin for this and the other five skin cancer warning signs.

It is your body and your health so pay attention to any skin change. Paying attention is your best chance for a healthy life. Consulting your doctor immediately is the most important thing to do if you notice any of these five signs of skin cancer. A medical professional will make a proper diagnosis of whether you have skin cancer or not. To increase the success rate for curing or even completely eradicating skin cancer at its early stages depends on evaluating and testing any unusual skin growths at the beginning stages.