How to check a mole on your skin for cancer

Summer is the perfect time to get outside and spend time in the sun, but while getting outside is healthy, overexposure to ultraviolet light is not — you need to protect yourself.

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Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the US. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 20% of Americans will develop skin cancer at some point in their livesif current trends continue.

While not all skin cancers are deadly, melanoma, the most dangerous and third-most common kind, is extremely deadly if not found early, and it's on the rise. The American Cancer Society estimates that, in the US in 2017, about 87,110 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed, and 9,730 people are expected to die from the disease.

Fortunately, melanoma is very treatable if caught early enough, and it usually provides a telltale sign that you should talk to your doctor about: a mole, blemish, or mark on your skin. There's an easy way to evaluate those moles, which can be remembered with the acronym ABCDE.

We had Dr. Amy Derick, a clinical instructor of dermatology at Northwestern University, walk us through these common guidelines.