How to check your moles for skin cancer

Examine the front and back of your body, including the scalp, soles, nails, and areas covered by hair. Notice changes in a mole’s outline, colour, size, surface, or texture, and pay attention to itching, tenderness, crusting, or bleeding. A single feature does not diagnose skin cancer, and many unusual-looking moles are harmless. The useful clue is a change from that mole’s established appearance or a mark that looks different from the rest.

Use a mirror or ask someone to help inspect hard-to-see areas. Keep a private record of where a mole is and how it looks, using consistent lighting and scale. Do not pick, burn, or try to remove it at home. Arrange a dermatology review for a new, changing, or symptomatic mole. If removal is advised, [Mole Removal](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/mole-removal/) or [Surgical Excision](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/excisional-surgery/) may allow the tissue to be examined.

Book a prompt appointment for a mole that changes noticeably, repeatedly bleeds, forms a persistent crust, becomes painful, or develops an irregular border or multiple colours. Seek urgent medical help for uncontrolled bleeding or rapidly spreading redness, swelling, or severe pain around a lesion.

Does this mole need dermoscopy or removal? If it is removed, will it be sent for laboratory examination? How should the wound be cared for, and what changes should prompt a follow-up?