What is a Full Body Skin Exam?
At Tareen Dermatology a large part of what we do are routine skin cancer screenings or routine full body skin exams. So why are full body skin exams important? Full body skin exams are one of the best ways to help prevent the occurrence or re-occurrence of skin cancers. When skin cancers, especially Melanomas, are detected early, skin cancer treatment can be easy, however, if left alone can be life threatening.
So what can I expect at my first Full Body Skin Exam?
First, one of our medical assistant’s will bring you back at your scheduled appointment time and perform a full medical patient intake. Our medical assistants will discuss medical history, your current medications, prior skin disease cancer history (if any), as well as discuss your concerns. Once the intake is complete, the medical assistant will step out of the room so you will change into a medical gown (everything comes off except for your underwear). Once you’ve had time to change, the medical assistant will return to the exam room and perform a “preliminary exam” and mark out any concerning lesions, moles, or other skin conditions on your body. This process is very important as it allows for all patient concerns to be addressed precisely and individually during the full body exam. Once the medical assistant has completed the “preliminary exam”, they will step out of the room to present to one of our providers. Next, the provider and medical assistant will re-enter the room and perform a thorough head-to-toe check of your body for any concerning lesions or skin conditions. Any suspicious lesion that is hard, scaly, irregular, crusty, or rapidly growing or changing may be recommended for removal and sent to a pathologist for testing (biopsy). We will work with you to discuss expectations of the recommended treatment plan, post-care instructions, and results.