On October 18, 2008 there was a fine piece in the NY Times: Fighting Melanoma in the Mirror:
It covers many of the salient points and is a good starting place for patients and their families.
In Brief:
Skin self-exams are the most direct method for detecting potentially deadly melanoma, though the benefits remain unproved.
Moles that are smaller than a pencil eraser are rarely cancerous.
90 percent of melanoma growths are curable if caught early and removed; untreated, survival rates are worse than for lung cancer.
When it comes to melanoma, vanity may be a virtue. The most direct method for detecting this deadly tmour is to face a mirror, clothes off, and check for suspicious moles from head to toe.
“Melanoma is, therefore, the biggest no-brainer for screening,” Melanoma: Essentials