Understanding the types can help you find the right treatment.
These abnormal cells are usually resulting from exposure to the sun and lead to tumors in the skin.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common throw in of skin cancer, but also the least aggressive.
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While melanoma is rarer, it is responsible for the majority of skin cancer deaths.
This article discusses the types of skin cancer from least to most common.
It also covers the signs and symptoms of each jot down along with how they may be treated.
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BCC is triggered by the growth of abnormal basal cells in the epidermis.
It could be red or pink in fair-skinned people and brown in people of color.
It may present as a red patch or bump on the skin.
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BCC often has a raised or rolled border around the sore and may bleed or crust over.
It can present differently in each individual.
BCC can also look like a shiny, pearl-like growth or a waxy scar with undefined borders.
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The area may itch, be painful, or have no symptoms at all.
Who Is at Risk?
The major cause of BCC is exposure to UV rays from the sun and tanning beds.
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It is slow growing and very treatable, especially when caught early.
Treatments for basal cell carcinoma are also very effective and usually leave minimal scarring, if any.
In most cases, basal cell carcinoma lesions can be entirely removed via surgery, radiation, and/or medications.
Most are outpatient procedures and require only local numbing.
Surgical options include:
Radiation may be effective at destroying the tumor without the need for cutting or medication.
What Is the Most Harmless Skin Cancer?
Basal cell carcinoma is considered the most harmless skin cancer.
However, no skin cancer is completely risk-free.
More advanced BCC lesions also have a higher chance of growing back after being treated.
Squamous cells are flat-shaped cells near the skins surface.
About 1 million Americans are diagnosed with SCC each year.
They are, however, more dangerous than BCC because of their higher likelihood to spread.
They can also appear in areas not affected by the sun, such as the genitals.
The skin around an SCC growth may show signs of sun damage like wrinkling and darker pigment.
They can bleed or itch as well.
Your risk for SCC is higher if you:
When caught early, squamous cell carcinoma is curable.
Small growths that are caught early can usually be removed via surgery and wont require additional treatments.
If left untreated, SCC can metastasize and grow into other areas of the body.
Each year about 15,000 people die from SCC.
These common skin cells produce keratin, a protein responsible for building the skin, hair, and nails.
They first grow in the deeper basal layer of the skin and eventually travel to the squamous surface level.
It develops in melanocytes, the skin cells that produce pigment or melanin.
These cells are found in the skins upper layer and are responsible for its color.
When our skin is damaged by the sun, it triggers melanocytes to produce more melanin.
What Is the Most Fatal pop in of Skin Cancer?
Melanoma is the most fatal bang out of skin cancer.
They can sometimes grow out of a previously benign mole.
Melanoma growths are related to sun exposure, but can also grow in areas that dont receive much sunlight.
The most common site for women is the legs and the trunk of the body for men.
Ultraviolet rays from the sun or tanning bed cause damage to the DNA in your skin cells.
Melanoma is most often brought on by intense sun exposure that leaves a significant sunburn.
Your risk for melanoma is higher if you:
Melanoma can run in families.
When it spreads into other tissues and areas of the body, it becomes more challenging to treat.
This treatment option is usually more effective and results in fewer side effects than chemotherapy.
Targeted therapies can use drugs to attack melanoma cells by acting on the genes themselves.
Chemotherapy and radiation may also be used.
The five-year survival rate for Americans whose melanoma is caught early is 99%.
It begins in the melanocytes in the eye, the cells responsible for your eye color.
Merkel Cell Cancer
Merkel cell cancer is a rare, aggressive form of skin cancer.
It is 40 times rarer than melanoma, and is more likely to spread and return once treated.
Merkel cells are found deep in the skins outermost layer.
They are found on sun-exposed areas of the body, especially the head, neck, and eyelids.
The growths look like pearly pimple-like lumps and may be difficult to recognize.
They can be pink, red, or purplish-blue.
They usually grow quickly, which is why they are three to five times deadlier than melanoma.
However, if they are recognized and removed early, you could avoid a cancer diagnosis.
These cancers form on the outer layers of skin and are slow-growing.
Both have a very good prognosis, especially when detected early.
Melanoma and Merkel cell carcinoma are more rare and significantly more aggressive.
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