Know thy skin

By Times staff
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 10, 2002

Regularly examining your skin for suspicious moles or other changes is the best way to detect skin cancer. Early diagnosis can be life-saving.

Using a full-length mirror and a hand mirror in a brightly lit room, examine your body on all sides with arms raised. Look carefully at forearms and undersides of arms, backs of thighs and groin. Check between toes and fingers; look at palms and soles. Examine neck and ears. Part your hair and look at your scalp, perhaps with the help of a friend.

The ABCs of identifying a suspicious mole:

• A -- asymmetry; one half is not the same as the other half in shape.
• B -- border irregularity; an edge that is ragged, notched or blurred.
• C -- color; different hues rather than one color.
• D -- diameter; observed change in size larger than a pencil eraser.

-- Source: American Academy of Dermatology

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