May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month

FREE Skin Cancer Screenings in

Lexington, Richmond and London

While appointments last

1.800.432.9005

Basal Cell Carcinoma
This is the most common skin cancer found in caucasians with light hair, blue eyes and complexions that don't tan easily; they seldom occur in dark-skinned persons. This tumor of the skin usually appears as a small, fleshy bump or nodule on the head, neck and hands. Occasionally these nodules may appear on the trunk of the body, usually as flat growths.

These tumors usually don't grow rapidly. It may take many months or years for one to reach a diameter of one-half inch. Untreated, the cancer will begin to bleed, crust over, then repeat the cycle.

Although this type of cancer does not often metastasize (spread to other parts of the body), it can extend below the skin to the bone and cause considerable local damage. When properly treated the cure rate approaches 100 percent.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma
This is the second most common skin cancer found in caucasians; (pictured on the right is a finger with Squamous Cell Carcinoma) and is rarely found on dark-skinned persons. These tumors may appear as nodules or as red, scaly patches typically found on the rim of the ear, the face, the lips and sun-exposed areas of the body. This cancer will increase in size, developing in time into large masses. Unlike basal cell carcinoma, it can metastasize (spread to other parts of the body).

Other less important factors would include: a history of repeated medical and industrial X-ray exposure, scarring from disease or burns, occupational exposure to such compounds as coal tar and arsenic, or a family history of skin cancer.

Malignant Melanoma
The principal cause of this skin cancer is almost universally accepted by medical experts to be over-exposure to sunlight, especially when it results in sunburn and blistering.

Malignant melanoma is the most virulent of all skin cancers and develops on the skin of 32,000 Americans. Every year an estimated 6,800 Americans will die from melanoma. One in 75 Americans will develop a Melanoma in their lifetime. Melanoma, like its less aggressive cousins, basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, is almost always curable in its early stages.

Melanoma has its beginnings in melanocytes, the skin cells that produce the dark protective pigment called melanin. Melanoma cells usually continue to produce melanin, which accounts for the cancers appearing in mixed shades of tan, brown and black.

Melanoma may suddenly appear without warning but it may also begin in or near a mole or other dark spot on the skin.

Other warning signs include: changes in the surface of a mole, scaliness, oozing, bleeding or the appearance of a bump or nodule, spread of pigment from the border into surrounding skin, and change in sensation including itchiness, tenderness, or pain.

The "ABCD's" for early detection of melanoma:

A: Asymmetry: The shape of one half does not match the other.

B: Border: The edges are uneven, ragged, or notched.

C: Color: Different shades of brown, black, tan, blue or red

D: Diameter: Any change in size. (Normal moles are usually less than 6 mm – the size of a pencil eraser.)

Prevention of melanoma skin cancer is obviously the most desirable weapon against this disease. Periodic self-examinations are helpful to aid in early recognition of any new or developing lesion. Limit the exposure of the skin to harmful rays by covering up and using sunscreens with at least a 40 SPF rating.