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The best way to detect skin cancer is to know what skin cancer looks like, do monthly self-exams and have regular exams by your health care provider to check for abnormalities that could be cancerous moles or skin cancer spots. Different types of skin cancer come with different signs you should look for.
Take Charge of Your Health
Talk to your primary care provider if you have questions or concerns about your skin or you have noticed an abnormality. UW Medicine Primary Care can help you get started with screening. Learn about Fred Hutch's relationship with UW Medicine.
Actinic Keratosis Symptoms and Signs
Many people have actinic keratosis (AK), also called solar keratosis. It’s a sign that you’ve had enough sun exposure that you could develop skin cancer. It is therefore considered a pre-cancerous skin condition.
Usually, AK shows up on the parts of your body that have received the most lifetime sun exposure, like the face, ears, scalp, neck, backs of the hands, forearms, shoulders and lips.
This skin abnormality develops slowly. The lesions are usually small, about an eighth of an inch to a quarter of an inch. You may see a few at a time and they can disappear and later return.
What to look for and know about AK:
- It's a scaly or crusty bump on the skin’s surface and is usually dry and rough. It can be flat. Many people feel an AK before they clearly see it.
- It may be the same color as your skin, or it may be light, dark, tan, pink, red or a combination of colors.
- It can itch or create a prickling or tender sensation.
- These skin abnormalities can become inflamed and develop redness around the area. They rarely bleed.
Basal Cell Carcinoma Symptoms and Signs
Basal cell carcinoma (aslo called basal cell skin cancer) is usually found on sun-exposed areas of the skin like the scalp, forehead, face, nose, neck and back.
Basal cell carcinoma may bleed after a minor injury but then scab and heal. This can happen over and over for months or years with no visible growth, making it easy to mistake them for wounds or sores. They rarely cause pain in their earliest stages.
In addition to the bleeding and healing, these are other possible signs of a basal cell carcinoma:
- A persistent open sore that does not heal and bleeds, crusts or oozes.
- A reddish patch or irritated area that may crust or itch.
- A shiny bump or nodule that is pearly or translucent and often pink, red or white. It can also be tan, black or brown, especially in dark-haired people, and easy to confuse with a mole.
- A pink growth with a slightly elevated, rolled border and a crusted indentation in the center. Tiny blood vessels may appear on the surface as the growth enlarges.
- A scar-like lesion in an area that you have not injured. It may be white, yellow or waxy, often with poorly defined borders. The skin seems shiny and tight; sometimes this can be a sign of an aggressive tumor.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Generally found on the ears, face and mouth, squamous cell carcinoma can be more aggressive than basal cell. Untreated, it may push through the skin layers to the lymphatic system, bloodstream and nerve routes, where it can cause pain and symptoms of serious illness.
Appearance
Squamous cell cancer often starts as a precancerous lesion known as actinic keratosis (described above). When it becomes cancerous, the lesion appears raised above the normal skin surface and is firmer to the touch. Sometimes the spot shows only a slight change from normal skin.
Other signs of squamous cell carcinoma include:
- Any change, such as crusting or bleeding, in an existing wart, mole, scar or other skin lesion
- A wart-like growth that crusts and sometimes bleeds
- A scaly, persistent reddish patch with irregular borders, which may crust or bleed
- A persistent open sore that does not heal and bleeds, crusts or oozes
- A raised growth with a depression in the center that occasionally bleeds and may rapidly increase in size
Yes, it is important to understand the varying symptoms and signs of different skin cancer types. Even within one disease type, there are different signs to look out for. For instance, basal cell carcinoma could appear as a reddish patch, or a shiny bump or nodule.