Signs and Symptoms of Skin Cancer
Skin cancer is a very dangerous and common disease that can have many different causes. It can occur anywhere on the body, but is most common on skin that has been exposed to sunlight, such as the face, neck, hands, and arms.
This disease represents the most commonly diagnosed malignancy, surpassing lung, breast, colorectal and prostate cancer, but unlike other cancers, only a small number of people die from it. There are a variety of different symptoms, and different types have different symptoms.
- skin ulcers
- skin changes that don’t heal
- changes in existing moles
- discolored skin
- Areas of the skin that are:
- Scaly, bleeding, or crusted
- Flat, rough, red or brown, and scaly.
- Small, raised, smooth, shiny and waxy.
- Similar to a scar and firm
Signs of possible actinic keratosis are: Cracking or peeling of the lower lip and a raised, raised, scaly, red, or brown, rough patch on the skin. It is impossible to completely eliminate the possibility of skin cancer, the risk of developing such cancer can be significantly reduced with the following steps:
- avoiding sun exposure during the day
- wearing protective clothing
- reduce exposure to ultraviolet radiation
- Reapply sunscreen every 2 hours and after swimming.
- using a broad spectrum sunscreen
Basal cell carcinoma
It is the most common type of this disease and occurs on areas of the skin that have been exposed to the sun, most often the nose. Often times this appears as a small raised bump that has a smooth, pearly appearance. Basal cell carcinoma can spread to the tissues around the cancer.
Squamous cell carcinoma
It occurs on areas of the skin that have been exposed to the sun, such as the ears, lower lip, and the back of the hands. Squamous cell carcinoma can also appear on areas of the skin that have been burned or exposed to chemicals or radiation. Often this cancer appears as a firm red bump.
Actinic keratosis
It is a skin condition that, fortunately, is not cancer, but it can develop into squamous cell carcinoma. It occurs in areas that have been exposed to the sun, such as the face, the back of the hands, and the lower lip.