Self-check your skin, says Cosmo

Here I thought Cosmo was all about sex, seduction, and giving men what they really want. Not so. The magazine also dishes out a lesson or two on health. Right now on its website is a whole how-to piece on giving your skin a monthly once-over in the name of cancer prevention.

In addition to an annual dermatologist screening, you should be following these simple steps. Find something suspicious? Report it to your doc right away.

• Start at the bottoms of your feet and work your way up your legs, torso, back, and arms. Carefully examine every mole and mark. Don't forget to look at your nails and hair. Look underneath every strand of hair. If you need to, use a blow-dryer to part the hair.
• Look for ABCD – asymmetry (one side doesn't match the other), a jagged border, a color that is not brown or contains more than one color within one mark, and/or a diameter larger than a quarter inch.
  
• Document the description of any spot and its location so you can tell your doctor.

My two cents: Have a partner check out hard-to-see areas and consider using a digital camera to capture your spots. Save them on your computer and compare each month's photos.