Skin Cancer Symptoms

Causes and Symptoms of Skin Cancer

Skin cancer may appear as a change in the skin, such as a growth, an irritation or sore that does not heal, or a change in a wart or mole. Although anyone can get skin cancer, the risk is if you have fair skin that freckles easily, often with blue or light-colored eyes and red or blond hair.

The main skin cancer symptom includes a difference in the appearance of the skin. It may take the form of a spot, sore, or mole with a changeable size, shape, color, or feel. Some common skin cancer symptoms are firm red lump, sore or rough red spot that becomes crusty or scaly which begins to bleed, spot that becomes red, swollen, itchy, tender, or painful and mole that grows or otherwise changes its appearance. There are a variety of different skin cancer symptoms that you should be aware of. Those skin cancer symptoms include sores or changes in the skin that do not heal, ulcers in the skin, discoloring in parts of the skin, and changes in existing moles. The skin cancer symptoms may vary depending upon its type. There are 3 different types of skin cancer and its symptoms stated below.

Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer

The most of Nonmelanoma skin cancer is caused due to over exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. It usually develops slowly, invading and destroying nearby tissues. Because of this slow growth, skin cancer can often be detected and treated early in its development, increasing the chance for a cure.

The Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Symptoms involves

1. Change in the skin, such as a growth.
2. An irritation or sore that does not heal.
3. A change in a wart or mole.

It is important that nonmelanoma skin cancers be detected in its early stages because treatment is very effective then. It is often treated by removing the cancer either with surgery or freezing. It rarely spreads to other parts of the body. Basal cell Carcinoma or Cancer and squamous cell Carcinoma or Cancer are the most common types of nonmelanoma skin cancer.

Basal Cell Carcinoma or Cancer

Basal cell skin carcinoma or cancer most often appears on areas of the body that have been exposed to the sun, such as the head, face, neck, back, chest, or shoulders. The nose is the most common site. Basal cell skin carcinoma or cancer is the most common skin cancer in light-skinned people. It is rare in people who have dark skin.

Basal cell carcinoma or cancer affects the appearance of the skin by invading normal skin tissue and damaging deeper tissues, such as muscles and bones. Basal cell carcinoma or cancer grows slowly and does not usually spread to other parts of the body. If basal cell carcinoma or cancer comes back, it may grow faster and cause more tissue damage.

The symptoms of basal cell Carcinoma or Cancer can vary and may include skin changes such as:

1. Red, tender, flat spot that bleeds easily.
2. Small, fleshy bump with a smooth, pearly appearance, often with an indentation in the middle.
3. Smooth, shiny bump that may look like a mole with change in its size, shape, or color.
4. A bump that bleeds, itches, crusts over, and then repeats the cycle.
5. Scarlike patch of skin, especially on the face, that is firm to the touch.
6. Pearly bump with tiny blood vessels in a spiderlike appearance.

Treatment for a basal cell cancer involves surgery to remove the lesion and occasionally radiation therapy or topical chemotherapy. Most basal cell skin cancer can be cured, but some may return after treatment.

Squamous cell Carcinoma or Cancer

Squamous cell Carcinoma or Cancer usually affects the face, head, or neck. Squamous cell skin cancer is less common. Squamous cell Carcinoma or Cancer usually grows slowly and often develops in injured or diseased skin areas. Squamous cell Carcinoma or Cancer can be disfiguring. Squamous cell Carcinoma or Cancer is more invasive than basal cell and can spread from the scalp, ears, eyelid, nose, or lip to other areas of the body.

The symptoms of squamous cell Carcinoma or Cancer include:

1. Skin growth that looks like a wart.
2. Persistent, firm, red bump on sun-exposed skin.
3. Patch of skin that feels scaly, bleeds, or develops a crust, which may get bigger over a period of months and form a sore.
4. Sore that does not heal or an area of thickened skin on the lower lip.

Basal cell and squamous cell Carcinoma or Cancer are curable if they are detected and treated early. If skin cancer becomes more advanced, treatment will depend on the stage of cancer. After you have one skin cancer, you are more likely to have another new skin cancer develop. People who have had nonmelanoma skin cancer may have an increased risk of developing other skin cancers. Another type of skin condition with symptoms similar to nonmelanoma skin cancer is actinic keratosis. While not a skin cancer, actinic keratosis may indicate sun-damaged skin and lead to skin cancer. In some cases, an untreated actinic keratosis may develop into squamous cell Carcinoma or Cancer.