Overview

What is skin cancer?

Skin cancer is a disease that involves the growth of abnormal cells in your skin tissues. Normally, as skin cells grow old and die, new cells form to replace them. When this process doesn’t work as it should like after exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun cells grow more quickly. These cells may be noncancerous (benign), which don’t spread or cause harm. Or they may be cancerous.

Skin cancer can spread to nearby tissue or other areas in your body if it’s not caught early. Fortunately, if skin cancer is identified and treated in early stages, most are cured. So, it’s important to talk with your healthcare provider if you think you have any signs of skin cancer.

Symptoms and Causes

What are the signs and symptoms of skin cancer?

The most common warning sign of skin cancer is a change on your skin typically a new growth or a change in an existing growth or mole. Skin cancer symptoms include:

  • A new mole or a mole that changes in size, shape, or color, or that bleeds.
  • A pearly or waxy bump on your face, ears, or neck.
  • A flat, pink/red- or brown-colored patch or bump.

Skin cancer risk factors

  • Have light-colored eyes.
  • Blond or red hair and fair or freckled skin.
  • Tan or use tanning beds.
  • Spend a lot of time working or playing in the sun.
  • Have a family history of skin cancer.
  • Have many moles or irregular-shaped moles.
  • Get easily sunburned or have a history of sunburns
  • Areas on your skin that look like scars.
  • Sores that look crusty, have a depression in the middle, or bleed often.
  • A wound or sore that won’t heal, or that heals but comes back again.
  • A rough, scaly lesion that might itch, bleed, and become crusty.

What does skin cancer look like?

Skin cancer looks different depending on what type of skin cancer you have. Thinking of the ABCDE rule tells you what signs to watch for:

  • Asymmetry: Irregular shape.
  • Border: Blurry or irregularly shaped edges.
  • Color: Mole with more than one color.
  • Diameter: Larger than a pencil eraser (6 millimeters).
  • Evolution: Enlarging, changing in shape, color, or size. (This is the most important sign.)

If you’re worried about a mole or another skin lesion, make a use of this website to check the skin cancer and show it to your healthcare provider. They’ll check your skin and may ask you to see a dermatologist and have the lesion further evaluated.

What are skin cancer stages?

Cancer stages tell you how much cancer is in your body. The stages of skin cancer range from stage 0 to stage IV. In general, the higher the number, the more cancer has spread and the harder it is to treat. But the staging for melanoma is different from non-melanoma skin cancers that start in your basal or squamous cells.

Melanoma staging

  • Stage 0 (melanoma in situ): The melanoma is only in the top layer of your skin.
  • Stage I: The melanoma is low risk and there’s no evidence that it has spread. It’s generally curable with surgery.
  • Stage II: It has some features that indicate that it’s likely to come back (recur), but there’s no evidence of spread.
  • Stage III: The melanoma has spread to nearby lymph nodes or nearby skin.
  • Stage IV: The melanoma has spread to more distant lymph nodes or skin, or has spread to internal organs.

Non-melanoma staging

  • Stage 0: Cancer is only in the top layer of your skin.
  • Stage I: Cancer is in the top and middle layers of your skin.
  • Stage II: Cancer is in the top and middle layers of your skin and moves to target your nerves or deeper layers of skin.
  • Stage III: Cancer has spread beyond your skin to your lymph nodes.
  • Stage IV: Cancer has spread to other parts of your body and your organs like your liver, lungs, or brain.

Prevention

Does skin cancer be prevented?

In most cases, skin cancer can be prevented. The best way to protect yourself is to avoid too much sunlight and sunburns. UV rays from the sun damage your skin, and over time, this may lead to skin cancer.


How can I lower my risk?

Ways to protect yourself from skin cancer include:

  • Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a skin protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher.
  • Broad-spectrum sunscreens protect against both UV-B and UV-A rays.
  • Apply the sunscreen 30 minutes before you go outside.
  • Wear sunscreen every day, even on cloudy days and during the winter months.
  • Wear hats with wide brims to protect your face and ears.
  • Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants to protect your arms and legs.
  • Look for clothing with an ultraviolet protection factor label for extra protection.
  • Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.
  • Look for glasses that block both UV-B and UV-A rays.
  • Use a lip balm with sunscreen.
  • Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
  • Avoid tanning beds. If you want a tanned look, use a spray-on tanning product.
  • Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist if any of the medications you take make your skin more sensitive to sunlight. Some medications known to make your skin more sensitive to the sun include tetracycline and fluoroquinolone antibiotics, tricyclic antibiotics, the antifungal agent griseofulvin, and statin cholesterol-lowering drugs.
  • Regularly check all your skin for any changes in size, shape, or color of skin growths or the development of new skin spots. Don’t forget to check your scalp, ears, the palms of your hands, soles of your feet, between your toes, your genital area, and between your buttocks. Use mirrors and even take pictures to help identify changes in your skin over time. Make an appointment for a full-body skin exam with your dermatologist if you notice any changes in a mole or other skin spot.