Skin Cancer
There are three different types of skin cancer you should beware of:
Basal cell carcinoma
Which appears as a small, pearly bump on the head, neck or hands, or less commonly as flat growths on the trunk region. These lesions don't spread quickly and they rarely spread to other parts of the body, but they can extend deeply into the layers of the skin, causing significant local damage.Squamous cell carcinoma
Which appears as nodules or as red, scaly patches, typically on the ear, the face, the lips and mouth that eventually will develop into large masses. It can metastasise.Malignant melanoma
Which is the least common, but most aggressive of the three types of skin cancer. More than 38,000 new cases of malignant melanoma are expected each year. In women, the number of melanoma skin cancer cases is rising at a rate second only to lung cancer. Although people with dark skin tones are less susceptible to developing melanoma than lighter skinned people, they are also at risk, especially for developing the disease on their palms of the hands, soles of the feet, under nails or in the mouth. Melanoma appears as irregular shapes, sometimes in or around a mole, or without warning on other areas of the skin. Melanoma originates in the skin's melanocytes - the cells that produce melanin. Often, the cells continue to produce melanin, giving melanoma its characteristic black, tan, or brown shading.
Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma account for approximately 80 percent of all new cases of skin cancer. They are the most common skin cancers found in Caucasians.