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What Is Skin Cancer?
Skin cancerthe abnormal growth of skin cellsmost often develops on skin exposed to the sun.
But this common form of cancer can also occur on areas of your skin not ordinarily exposed to sunlight.
Anastasiia Yanishevska / Getty Images
There are three major types of skin cancerbasal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma.
Early detection of skin cancer gives you the greatest chance for successful skin cancer treatment.
Just what damages DNA in skin cells and how this leads to melanoma isnt clear.
Its likely that a combination of factors, including environmental and genetic factors, causes melanoma.
This indicates that other factors may contribute to your risk of melanoma.
Talk to your practitioner about what screening is right for you based on your risk of skin cancer.
Types of Nevi
There are multipletypes of nevi.
People with this condition should speak with adermatologistabout how often to have a thorough skin exam.
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National Cancer Institute.Skin cancer prevention (PDQ)patient version.
2023;329(15):1290-1295. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.4342
National Cancer Institute.Skin cancer screening (PDQ)health professional version.
2018;43(5):566-572. doi:10.1111/ced.13393
National Cancer Institute.Risk factors for melanoma skin cancer.
