When should I call my doctor if I have skin cancer, nonmelanoma?

Call your doctor if you have an irritated or irregular skin growth. This includes any:

• Firm, pearly bump with tiny blood vessels that look spidery (telangiectasias).

• Red, tender, flat spot that bleeds easily. 

• Small, fleshy bump with a smooth, pearly appearance, often with a depressed center. 

• Smooth, shiny bump that may look like a mole or cyst. 

• Patch of skin, especially on the face, that looks like a scar and is firm to the touch. 

• Bump that itches, bleeds, crusts over and then repeats the cycle and has not healed in 3 weeks. 

• Change in a mole or a skin growth, including a change in size, shape or color.

• Area of normal skin that quickly changes shape or appearance. 

Be sure to show your doctor any skin growths that concern you so that they can be evaluated and treated if needed.

Who to see

Health professionals who can examine and diagnose a suspicious skin growth include:

• Family medicine physicians.

• Dermatologists. 

• Nurse practitioners. 

• Physician assistants.

• Internists.

• Pediatricians.

Doctors who can remove a large skin growth or one in a noticeable area while minimizing scars that may result from surgery include: 

• Dermatologists. 

• Plastic or reconstructive surgeons. 

• General surgeons. 

• Head and neck surgeons. 

• Radiation oncologists.

To prepare for your appointment, see the topic Making the Most of Your Appointment.