People who have many moles may be advised to monitor their skin for any changes to those moles. Following the guidelines of ABCD --or asymmetry, border, coloring, and diameter—these people will be more likely to catch any early changes in their moles and thus may be able to effectively diagnose a melanoma cancer early. Melanoma will be diagnosed in a series of steps following the patient’s initial appointment with the doctor.

Steps to a Diagnosis

The best way to definitively diagnose melanomas is to perform a biopsy. A biopsy involves removing a piece of the affected skin to determine if it is malignant –meaning cancerous—or not. If the affected area is small, the doctor will attempt to remove all of the area as well as some healthy tissue around it in case the area was malignant. If the area is too large to remove at one time during the biopsy, the doctor will simply remove enough to determine if it is cancerous.

A biopsy is usually performed in your doctor’s office or in an outpatient clinic. Using a local anesthetic, the doctor will excise a piece of the skin (or all of the affected area is he is able to) in order to have a pathologist examine the sample to determine if it is indeed cancerous. This helps the doctor and patient to learn the extent and stage of the cancer if it is in fact cancer. The biopsy procedure will also help to determine the thickness and location of the growth. It will also tell if the growth has spread or grown deep into the tissue.

Depending on what the doctor determines from the biopsy, he may want to order further testing. This testing may include a physical exam or chest x-rays if the doctor believes the cancer may have begun to spread. Blood tests can also be useful in determining this. If the doctor does believe the cancer has spread, a liver, bone, or brain scan may also be performed to determine the extent of the melanoma’s spread.

The sooner you make your appointment after you spot a mole that has begun to act strangely, the better your chances of catching a potential melanoma early and successfully treating the illness.