Types of Skin Cancer
There are several types of skin cancer we frequently encounter at Cochise Oncology.
Basal cell carcinoma
This type of skin cancer typically develops in sun-exposed areas of skin, such as the top of the head, neck, and face. Symptoms include bleeding or scabbing patches that frequently return, pearly and waxy bumps, and brown scar-like lesions.
Squamous cell carcinoma
This form of skin cancer can affect anyone, but is more likely among patients with darker skin in areas infrequently exposed to the sun. The disease manifests as flat lesions with crusted surfaces and small, firm, red nodules.
Melanoma
Melanoma tends to develop differently depending on gender, forming on the face in men and on the lower legs in women. Signs include moles that change color or size, painful lesions that itch, and dark patches on the hands, feet, and mucus membranes in the mouth, vagina, or anus.
Rarer types of skin cancer include Kaposi sarcoma, which develops in the blood vessels that supply the skin, Merkel cell cancer, which produces firm, shiny nodules, and sebaceous gland carcinoma which is a type of cancer that begins in the oil glands in your skin.