What should you know about suspected melanoma?

A clinician may be concerned when a mole or mark is changing in size, shape, colour, or surface, or when it looks different from your other marks. Uneven colour, an irregular outline, bleeding, crusting, itching, or a spot that does not heal can all justify review. These features do not establish melanoma by themselves; benign lesions can look unusual, and melanoma can sometimes look subtle. A clinical examination and, when appropriate, tissue testing are needed to distinguish possibilities.

Book a skin examination with a dermatologist or another qualified clinician, and mention when you first noticed the change. Bring details about previous skin cancers, family history, sun exposure, and medicines that affect bleeding. Do not cut, burn, freeze, or repeatedly pick at the lesion yourself. Photographing it with a date can help show change while you wait, but a photograph does not replace examination. If removal is advised, ask whether the whole lesion will be removed as an excisional biopsy or whether another sampling plan is more suitable.

Request prompt review for a rapidly changing lesion, spontaneous bleeding, a persistent open sore, or a new firm lump near the area. Seek urgent care for uncontrolled bleeding, severe infection symptoms, or new severe headache, weakness, confusion, seizures, or vision change. Do not wait for a routine appointment when these symptoms are sudden or severe.

What features make this lesion worth testing? Should I have an excisional biopsy or another procedure? How should I care for the site afterward? When will results be available, and who will explain them? If melanoma is confirmed, will I need staging tests, lymph-node assessment, or a specialist team?