Your GP will examine your skin and decide whether you need to be referred for further assessment. Some GPs take digital photographs of any suspected tumours so they can email them to a specialist for assessment.
Biopsy
If skin cancer is suspected, you will be referred to a skin specialist (dermatologist). The dermatologist should be able to confirm the diagnosis by carrying out a physical examination. However, they will probably also do a biopsy - a surgical procedure where either a part or all of the tumour is removed and studied under a microscope. This allows the dermatologist to determine what type of skin cancer you have and whether there is any chance that the cancer could spread to other parts of your body.
Sometimes, skin cancer can be diagnosed and treated at the same time. In other words, the tumour can be removed and tested and you may not need any further treatment because the cancer is unlikely to spread.
Further tests
In some rare cases of squamous cell carcinoma, further tests may be needed to make sure the cancer has not spread to another part of your body. These tests may include a physical examination of your lymph nodes (glands found throughout your body). If cancer has spread, it may cause your glands to swell. This is because cancer can spread to other parts of your body through your lymphatic system.
If the dermatologist thinks there is a high risk of the cancer spreading, it may be necessary to perform a biopsy on a lymph node. This is called a sentinel lymph node biopsy. Finding cancerous cells in a nearby lymph node would suggest that the squamous cell carcinoma has started to spread to other parts of your body.
