What is Skin Cancer?

Different Types of Skin Cancer
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in humans. Cancer in general is very frightening disease since it is always associated with death. But there are two positive aspects to skin cancer:

1. It is early to detect since it develops on the outside of our body.
2. And you can take preventive action to reduce your risk of getting skin cancer.


There are three major kinds of skin cancer:

Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC)
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer. It usually develops on sun exposed areas as a small, round, raised, red spot. If detected early the chances of cure are good. Is a BCC left untreated it tends to grow in a very destructive and and disfiguring way.Learn more about BCC here...

Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC)
Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common skin cancer. It also mainly developes on sun exposed areas. It is a slowly growing cancer with a tendency to spread to other parts of the body. Often there is a relation to actinic keratosis, a preliminary stage of skin cancer. If SCC detected early the cure rates are good. See more details here...

Malignant Melanoma (MM)
Malignant melanoma is the most dangerous and life-threatening skin cancer of all. It has a great potential to spread to other parts of the body. Certain moles have the tendency to change their appearance and turn into MM. Because of the severity of MM it is important for survival to detect MM as early as possible. Find out more important facts about MM here...

Precancerous Lesions
Sometimes there are also abnormal skin areas that are not yet skin cancer. They are called precancerous since they have the potential to turn into skin cancer. This precancerous condition is called...

Actinic Keratosis (AK)
Actinic keratosis is a precancerous skin disease which is often associated with SCC. It nearly always occurs on sun exposed areas and looks like a harmless rough scaly skin patch. But it may develop into skin cancer. Therefore always pay attention to your skin. Do not let an actinic keratosis turn into a skin cancer. Get more information on AK here...

Who is at risk for skin cancer and how you can prevent it

Some people tend to be more at risk of developing skin cancer than others. Find out why and which factors may increase your risk here...

You are not helpless when it comes to preventing skin cancer. Learn what preventive measures you can take here...