The Symptoms Of Skin Cancer

Skin cancer affects more people than any other cancer. There are numerous types of skin cancer, but spotting it early is challenging because the signs can be vague. If caught early enough, skin cancer can be cured. Although it will often appear again on an affected individual, he will at least know that he is susceptible and keep a close eye on his skin, as will his doctor.

What many people find difficult is identifying a mole or lesion, which is the start of cancer. Take melanoma symptoms for instance. A mole or freckle could evolve into a malignant marker over time, but when you see a mark on your body every day, it is easy to overlook gradual changes. Moles also appear in many hard-to-see places like the back of the neck, shoulders, and back.

Worse still is the fact that sometimes a cancerous spot will not look like anything described by dermatologists. What causes concern could be an itch or bleeding, not the shape or size of a mole.

It is possible to lose the battle against skin cancer when it is a melanoma, although with many forms, the worst prognosis is that eradicating it will probably leave a lot of scar tissue. This is hard enough when you are an adult, but imagine a child going through the process of identifying and treating skin cancer. It does strike kids, and a service such as mole mapping can be done on them as well. Even if your child is still young, his moles should be observed regularly for all of the same signs you look for on your own body.

What are these signs? Generally, with melanoma, a mole or freckle will change shape or grow. The shape could become unidentifiable (not an oval or a circle). The edges might be indistinct. Colors of these moles vary from dark brown to mottled grey, brown, white, and pink.

One of the most common forms of skin cancer is Basal Cell Carcinoma. Although it will not spread to other parts of the body it can grow inwards, so surgeons will have to dig deep to remove it. This one starts as a pink lump.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma tends to form around the face. It becomes scaly or ulcerated, even crusty. This one can spread. So long as you know what you are looking for, it is very possible to spot skin cancer before it grows or spreads. If you have any doubts, always speak to your doctor rather than trying to ignore an unusual looking mark.