New, different, or evolving
Schedule an evaluation for a new spot, one unlike your usual pattern, or an area changing in size, shape, border, color, or elevation.
Medical dermatology · Belle Meade
Skin cancer screening in Nashville.
Schedule a medical dermatology visit at Cortina for a new or changing spot, or a broader skin exam based on your history. Your provider will explain what looks reassuring, what to monitor, and whether anything needs biopsy or treatment.
Medical skin checks Focused or broader exam · Belle Meade
- New or changing areas
- Skin cancer history
- Exam tailored to your concern
- Biopsy only when indicated
When to schedule
Schedule for a change you noticed, or because your history calls for an exam.
A spot can need evaluation even if it does not hurt, itch, or bleed. Your concern, history, and individual risk help determine the appropriate examination and follow-up plan.
Bleeding, symptomatic, or not healing
Tell us about a spot that repeatedly bleeds, crusts, itches, hurts, grows quickly, does not heal, or heals and returns.
History or higher risk
Prior skin cancer or atypical biopsy results, many moles, family history, ultraviolet exposure or indoor tanning, and a weakened immune system may affect the examination and follow-up plan.
Online scheduling lists this appointment as Skin Check / Mole Check. If a spot is changing quickly, repeatedly bleeding, or not healing, describe that when booking so the concern can be routed appropriately. Want more information about a focused visit for one or a few spots? Explore mole checks.
Evaluation + next steps
An initial assessment and clear follow-up steps.
A visual examination can identify areas that may need closer evaluation, but it cannot confirm or exclude every skin cancer. If a lesion is suspicious, diagnosis generally requires biopsy tissue examined under a microscope.
No immediate procedure
Some findings may not need an immediate biopsy. Your provider will explain what changes should prompt reassessment.
Monitor
Your provider may recommend documentation, a follow-up examination, and instructions for contacting the office sooner if the area changes.
Biopsy
If indicated, your provider explains the reason, whether sampling can occur that day, the pathology process, and how results will be communicated.
Physician-led medical dermatology
Warning signs guide the exam. They do not make a diagnosis.
The ABCDE signs describe common melanoma warning signs, but they do not describe every melanoma or every type of skin cancer. Your provider considers the area, how it compares with your other spots, symptoms, change over time, and your medical history.
Cortina’s physician-led medical dermatology team evaluates concerns across every skin tone. Skin cancer can also occur on areas with little sun exposure, and a concerning spot does not need to meet every ABCDE sign.
- Asymmetry or an irregular border
- Uneven or multiple colors
- Diameter and evolution over time
- A spot unlike your usual pattern
Insurance + billing
What insurance may cover.
Medical dermatology visits and medically indicated procedures may be eligible for insurance billing, but payment is not guaranteed. Coverage and patient responsibility depend on your plan. Cosmetic mole removal is self pay and handled separately.
Medical skin check Focused or broader evaluation based on the appointment and clinical need
Plan dependent
Biopsy + pathology When tissue sampling and microscopic examination are medically indicated
Plan dependent
Cosmetic mole removal Removal requested for appearance rather than medical need
Self pay
What to expect
What happens at your skin check.
Your provider begins with your concern and history, performs the appropriate focused or broader examination, and explains the current assessment and next steps.
Prepare
Note the areas that concern you, when you noticed them, changes or symptoms, prior biopsy results, and previous skin cancers.
Examine
Your provider performs a focused or broader visual examination based on the appointment, your concerns, and your history. A focused visit may not include examination of the rest of your skin.
Plan
Leave with a plan for no immediate procedure, monitoring, treatment, or biopsy. If biopsy is recommended, your provider explains whether it can happen that day or should be scheduled separately.
Common questions
Skin cancer screening FAQs
What is a skin cancer screening?
A screening exam looks for suspicious lesions when there is no current symptom or specific lesion of concern. A new, changing, or symptomatic lesion needs diagnostic evaluation, which may focus on that area. The examination scope depends on your appointment and clinical history.
Should I book a Skin Check or Mole Check?
Cortina’s online scheduler combines them as Skin Check / Mole Check. Use that option for one or a few identified spots, several new or changing areas, or a broader examination based on your history, risk, or a clinician’s recommendation. Describe your concern when booking. If you want a head-to-toe examination, request it when scheduling because a focused visit may not include the rest of your skin.
How often should I schedule a skin check?
There is no universal interval. National guidance does not establish one routine schedule for every asymptomatic person. Timing should be individualized based on current concerns, personal and family history, prior atypical or premalignant biopsy results, previous skin cancers, immune status, and other relevant risk factors.
Do the ABCDE signs diagnose melanoma?
No. ABCDE describes common melanoma warning signs—not every melanoma or every type of skin cancer: asymmetry, an irregular or poorly defined border, uneven or multiple colors, diameter often greater than 6 mm but sometimes smaller, and evolution. Also seek evaluation for a new or different spot, or one that changes, itches, hurts, crusts, oozes, bleeds, or does not heal.
What happens if a biopsy is recommended?
Your provider explains why sampling is recommended, whether it can be performed during that visit or should be scheduled, possible scarring, and wound care. After local anesthetic, part or all of the lesion is sampled and sent for microscopic examination. Results are generally not available during the visit. Confirm how and when results will be communicated and whom to contact if you have not received them within the timeframe provided. Additional treatment may be needed depending on the pathology result.
Is a skin cancer screening covered by insurance?
Eligible medical dermatology visits and medically indicated procedures may be billed to insurance, but payment is not guaranteed. Coverage and patient responsibility depend on your plan, network, benefits, referral requirements, diagnosis, and visit type. Cosmetic mole removal is self pay.
Medical skin checks · Belle Meade
Schedule your medical skin check in Belle Meade.
Book for one concerning spot, several changing areas, a broader skin examination, or screening guidance based on your history.
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