Complete Body Check

The Body Check is easy to perform and only takes about ten minutes. That ten minutes could save your life – with the rising incidence of skin cancer in the United States, the Skin Cancer Foundation now advises people to perform a body check for skin cancer every month.

Download the Cetaphil^® Body Check

To perform the easy Body Check Self-Exam while applying your body lotion, you will need a:

• Hand mirror
• Full-length mirror
• Hair dryer

What to Look For
During the examination, keep your eyes open for these changes*:

• Skin growths that have increased in size and appear translucent, tan, brown, black, pearly or multicolored.
• Birthmarks, moles, beauty marks or any brown spots that change color, size, thickness, texture, or, are irregular in outline, bigger than 6mm across, or that appeared after the age of 21.
• Spots or sores that continue to itch, hurt, crust, scab, erode or bleed.

	Start with your face and scalp: pay close attention to your nose, lips, mouth, and front and back of ears (using the hand mirror). Use the blow dryer and hand mirror to examine your scalp, section by section (ask a friend or family member to help if possible).
	As you apply your body lotion, examine your hands and arms. Start with the tips of your fingers and work up towards your shoulders. Be sure to check under your fingernails and between your fingers. Examine the front and back of your hands and move up your arms. Use a full-length mirror to check the sides of your upper arms, elbows and underarms.
	Next, examine the front of your neck, chest and torso (women should lift breasts to view underside).
	Finish your upper body using the hand held and full-length mirrors. Start with the back of your neck, then the back of your shoulders, backs of your upper arms and continue down to your lower back.
	Finally, using both full-length and hand held mirrors, inspect your buttocks and back of your legs. Sit down to inspect your toes, under your toenails, between toes, and tops and bottoms of your feet. Move up the ankles, shins, thighs and sides of both legs. Last, but not least, examine the genital area using the hand mirror.

Compare the results of each Body Check self-exam to the first one you perform. The first exam is your “benchmark” against which you can measure any subsequent changes. Use the drawings in the printout to mark the location and size of birthmarks, freckles, moles, growths, etc.

The Body Check, including instructions and body diagram for your records, is available in PDF. To view and print this document, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, available for free at www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

Download the Cetaphil^® Body Check

Take our Skin Care Quiz and check out our Cetaphil^® Product Comparison Chart to choose the right Cetaphil^® products solutions for you.

Presented as a courtesy of Galderma Laboratories, L.P. makers of Cetaphil^® Cleansers & Moisturizers

*Adapted from The Skin Cancer Foundation in New York City