If you think you might have skin cancer, ask your doctor to remove and biopsy it. Researchers at New York University discovered that patients diagnose their own melanomas 90 percent of the time. Dermatologists get it right 70 percent to 80 percent of the time, whereas family doctors only identify it 60 percent of the time. The ABCD guide One of the best ways to catch a melanoma early is to keep a close eye on moles and look for any changes. Use the ABCD rule.
B is for border irregularity.
You should be concerned if the edges of the mole are ragged, notched or blurred. C is for color. The color should not be uneven and vary from light to dark. And D is for diameter. If the mole is larger than one quarter of an inch in size, get it checked.