It is important that you regularly undertake self skin examinations in addition to professional skin checks under the care and management of a healthcare professional. Partners or friends can help in the hard to see places.
The most important things to look for are any changes, including existing and new moles that appear on your skin. The ABCDE guidelines can be used to check your skin:
“In 2012, almost a year after a Stage 1 melanoma was removed from my back, I detected a lump about the size of a golf ball under my right armpit.”