Directories run by the professional societies and the National Cancer Institute. AMI does not rank or recommend individual doctors.
A board-certified dermatologist is a medical doctor who finished 4 years of medical school, a 1-year internship, and 3 years of dermatology residency, then passed the certifying exam of the American Board of Dermatology or an equivalent board. The letters FAAD after a name mean the doctor is a board-certified Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. For most people this is the doctor who examines the skin, performs the biopsy, and treats the majority of skin cancers in the office.
Two subspecialists often join the care. A dermatopathologist is a dermatologist or pathologist with extra training in reading skin tissue under the microscope, and this doctor writes the pathology report that names your diagnosis. A Mohs surgeon, usually a dermatologist with added surgical training, removes a skin cancer one thin layer at a time and checks each layer under the microscope during the same visit until no cancer cells remain at the edges. Doctors use Mohs surgery most often for basal and squamous cell cancers on the face, ears, hands, and other places where saving healthy skin matters. The American Board of Dermatology offers subspecialty certification in both dermatopathology and micrographic dermatologic surgery.
Melanoma that is thick, has reached lymph nodes, or has spread usually calls for a larger team: a surgical oncologist, a medical oncologist who treats melanoma regularly, and sometimes a radiation oncologist. NCI-designated cancer centers bring these specialists together and run many of the clinical trials that test new treatments. NCI lists 74 designated centers across 37 states and the District of Columbia. When you call any office, useful questions include whether the doctor is board certified and in which specialty, how many patients with your type of skin cancer the practice treats, how soon a new patient can be seen, whether the office accepts your insurance, which records and pathology slides they need before the visit, and whether clinical trials are open there.
The AAD's public directory of its member dermatologists. Use it to find a dermatologist near you for a skin check or for a spot that worries you.
Lists fellowship-trained Mohs surgeons who belong to the ACMS. You can search by city, by ZIP code with a distance of 10 to 200 miles, or by the surgeon's last name.
The ASDS member directory. Search by ZIP code, or use the advanced search to look up a surgeon by name, state, or procedure.
The federal government's list of cancer centers that have earned NCI designation, searchable by state, region, or name, with contact details for referrals.
A search tool from the MRF for centers that treat melanoma, with filters for ZIP code and distance, NCI designation, and pediatric, ocular, or mucosal melanoma. The MRF presents it as a starting point and does not recommend specific doctors.
A state-by-state list of melanoma oncology programs and their doctors in the United States and Canada, kept by the AIM at Melanoma Foundation. Each entry gives an address, phone number, and website.
A free lookup, with no login, that shows whether a doctor holds board certification from an ABMS member board such as the American Board of Dermatology. Search by name, state, and specialty.
NCI's search tool for cancer clinical trials, including trials for melanoma and other skin cancers. NCI information specialists can help with a search by phone at 1-800-4-CANCER or by live chat.
