Skin Cancer Screening and Mole Checks

Check4Cancer’s cancer screening services are clinically governed by age restrictions, and you cannot sign up for a service if you are not within the age range for a particular cancer screening test. This is because clinical research does not support the benefits of screening people outside our specified age ranges.

Regardless of age, if you have symptoms then you should always seek medical advice from your GP.

For common signs and symptoms of skin cancer, please visit the Check4Cancer ‘Advice and Awareness’ page at this link. 

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and rates of skin cancer are increasing faster than any other cancer in the UK. Regularly checking your skin for signs of skin cancer can help lead to early detection.

How do I book a SkinCheck appointment?

• You can book your appointment online or by calling our customer care team
• The cost of a SkinCheck appointment is £180.00.
• You will be asked to complete an online risk assessment which will ask you questions about your lifestyle and skin type.
• We will confirm your SkinCheck appointment at a clinic close to your work or home by email. You will also receive a reminder text to your phone.

Your SkinCheck appointment will be a 25-minute consultation with a skin cancer specialist nurse which will cover the following areas:

• A review of your completed online risk assessment.
• The nurse will conduct a full body assessment.
• Tuition in self-examination, skin health and how best to protect your skin.
• A complete skin examination and Dermoscopy (looking into the deeper layers of the skin) examination of any suspicious skin changes or moles.
• High quality digital and dermoscopic images taken of any suspicious skin changes/moles.
• Unlike other companies, we do not charge per image and our service is all-inclusive. Whether you have one mole or many, the cost is the same.

Dermoscopy is a non-invasive method to examine your skin. A dermatoscope is a hand-held instrument, a bit like a magnifying glass, which can magnify an area by up to 10 times. The nurse will usually put some lubricant on your skin and then will hold the dermatoscope over your skin so they can examine the area very closely. This process does not hurt or affect your skin.

• Following your appointment, you will receive a results letter within five working days of your appointment. The results letter will contain any images that were taken on the day for your records.
• If any abnormality is discovered, we can assist you in being referred to your GP or a private consultant for further investigation.

If the nurse at your SkinCheck appointment takes digital and dermosopic images there are two possible outcomes:

1. No suspicious features and you will be reassured that no further investigation or treatment is required. We will advise you based on your risk assessment when you should next have a SkinCheck appointment. 
2. The mole/skin changes has features which would benefit from an urgent face-to-face examination for possible biopsy and/or treatment.

If a mole/skin change is suspicious and potential biopsy or removal is advised, we offer a ‘OneStop Skin Clinic’, which is a 30 to 45-minute consultation with removal of mole or skin lesion if necessary.

For more information on OneStop Skin Clinic, please call us. 

We’re pleased to cancel and re-schedule any appointments without penalty or administration fees up to 24 hours before your appointment. However, with less than 24 hours’ notice of cancellation, re-scheduling or non-attendance on the day does incur a 100% cancellation fee as we’ll be unable to re-use the time to support other clients. If an appointment is cancelled more than three times, we reserves the right to not offer an alternative appointment. New appointments will be charged at £180.00.