Skin Health
skin health
ABCDEs of Skin Health
It's vital to examine your skin head-to-toe each month, all year long. The ABCDE criteria below will help you to understand the differences between a benign lesion and a potentially malignant one. Be sure to talk to your dermatologist when you see any changes on your skin. The sooner a melanoma is diagnosed, the more successfully it can be treated.
Benign | Malignant | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AsYMMETRY | Symmetrical | Asymmetrical | ||||
Border | Smooth borders | Irregular (blurry or jagged) borders | ||||
Color | Single color | Multicolor | ||||
Diameter | Small than a pencil eraser (1/4 inch) | Larger than a pencil eraser (1/4 inch) | ||||
Evolution | No changes | Sudden changes in size, shape, or color |
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States making daily sun protection vitally important.
Get the Facts
skin cancers are diagnosed annually4
by applying broad spectrum SPF 15 or higher on a regular daily basis5
Americans will develop skin cancer over the course of a lifetime6
by using a sunscreen daily7