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To diagnose skin cancer, your doctor may: Examine your skin. Your doctor may look at your skin to determine whether your skin changes are likely to be skin cancer. Further testing may be needed to confirm that diagnosis. Remove a sample of suspicious skin for testing (skin biopsy).
Symptoms include new bumps or patches on your skin, or changes in the size, shape or color of skin growths. Most skin cancer is treatable if it’s caught early. Treatments include Mohs surgery, cryotherapy, chemotherapy and radiation.
Skin cancer is very common but also very treatable with medication and procedures if you catch it early. Know the symptoms of skin cancer, and get regular check-ups with your dermatologist.
In this article, we take a closer look at the signs and symptoms of the most common types of skin cancer and how they’re diagnosed.
There are three major types of skin cancer — basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. You can reduce your risk of skin cancer by limiting or avoiding exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Checking your skin for suspicious changes can help detect skin cancer at its earliest stages.
Skin cancer diagnosis always requires a skin biopsy. When you see a dermatologist because you’ve found a spot that might be skin cancer, your dermatologist will examine the spot. If the spot looks like it could be a skin cancer, your dermatologist will remove it all or part of it.
Tests and procedures used to diagnose squamous cell carcinoma of the skin include: Physical exam. A member of your health care team asks about your health history and looks at your skin for signs of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. Removing a sample of tissue for testing, called a biopsy.
Punch biopsy. For a punch biopsy, the doctor uses a tool that looks like a tiny round cookie cutter to remove a deeper sample of skin.
Tests and next steps. Treatment. Help and support. Find out about non-melanoma skin cancer, including what the symptoms are, what causes it, and how it's diagnosed and treated.
Donate with Confidence. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer. Learn about different types of skin cancer, what skin cancer might look like, sun safety, and other resources.