Read This Before Asking a 'skin Doctor' About Your Suspicious Mole!

A full skin check looking for skin cancer has to be done by a consultant or board-certified dermatologist - please do your research and make sure you are seeing someone with the training, expertise, and experience to make an accurate diagnosis.

If someone is calling themselves a ‘dermatology doctor’ or ‘skin doctor’ or ‘cosmetic doctor’ or even a ‘cosmetic dermatologist’ (not sure what kind of training they have had...the title ‘dermatologist’ is not a protected title but ‘consultant dermatologist’ and 'board-certified dermatologist' are) please find someone else!

Please do not waste your time going to a clinic where a nurse or technician takes photos of your moles and sends them to a ‘dermatologist’ to have them reviewed. Moles need to be seen in person, with a dermatoscope, so that all of your skin can be assessed thoroughly.

Be wary of anyone who examines your moles and suggests having many of them removed at once. Depending on where you live and who you see, removing moles can often be more about profit than medical care, unfortunately. 😤

If I have a patient with a number of 'funny' moles, I generally remove the one mole that looks most suspicious first and see what it looks like under the microscope to make an accurate diagnosis and then proceed accordingly. Very rarely do I find more than one worrying looking mole on a person at once, though it can happen. Ask the doctor you are seeing to explain to you why they think your mole looks worrying, what removing it involves and what it can mean for you. Ask questions and makes sure you are happy with the answers. You shouldn't leave the consultation feeling more confusing or worried than when you walked in!