Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. More than 2 million cases are diagnosed each year. About half of Americans will have skin cancer at least once by the time they are 65.
The two most common kinds of skin cancer are:
- Basal cell carcinoma: These account for more than 90% of all skin cancers. Basal cell carcinomas are slow going and seldom spread, but can invate bone and other tissues under the skin if left untreated.
- Squamous cell carcinoma: Squamous cell carcinoma can be more aggressive than basal cell carcinoma. It is more likely to grow deep below the skin and spread to distant parts of the body
These types of skin cancer sometimes are called nonmelanoma skin cancer. When they are found early, they can almost always be cured.
Other Types of Skin Cancer
Actinic (solar) keratosis
A precancerous condition that can develop into squamous cell carcinoma. It appears as rough, red or brown, scaly patches on the skin. They are often more easily felt than seen. Like skin cancer, actinic keratosis usually is found on sun-exposed areas of the body, but it can be found on other parts of the body as well.
Melanoma: A cancer that begins in the cells that produce skin pigment. It is less common than basal or squamous cell skin cancers, but it is more dangerous and can be deadly. If caught early, there is nearly a 97% chance for cure.
Skin Cancer Risk Factors
Anything that increases your chance of getting skin cancer is a risk factor.
Sun damage is the main risk factor for skin cancer. Artificial sunlight from tanning beds causes the same risk for skin cancer as natural sunlight. There is no such thing as a safe tan.
Other risk factors for skin cancer include:
- Age: The longer you are exposed to the sun over time, the higher your risk of developing skin cancer
- Fair complexion, blond or red hair, freckles, blue eyes and/or a tendency to sunburn
- Previous skin cancer
- Living in a sunny climate
- Working around coal tar, arsenic compounds, creosote, pitch and paraffin oil
- Previous skin injuries, such as a major scar or burn
- Actinic keratosis, a precancerous condition of thick, scaly patches of skin
Not everyone with risk factors gets skin cancer. However, if you have risk factors, it’s a good idea to discuss them with your health care provider.
Research shows that many cancers can be prevented if people applied everything known about cancer prevention to their lives.
Some people have an elevated risk of developing skin cancer. Review the skin cancer screening guidelines to see if you need to be tested.
Behavioral and lifestyle changes can help prevent skin cancer. Visit our prevention and screening section to learn how to manage your risk.
In rare cases, skin cancer can be passed down from one generation to the next. Genetic counseling may be right for you. Visit our genetic testing page to learn more.
What are the symptoms of skin cancer?
Skin cancer symptoms vary from person to person. These symptoms may include:
- Change on the skin, such as a new spot or one that changes in size, shape or color
- Sore that doesn’t heal
- Spot or sore that changes in sensation, itchiness, tenderness or pain
- Small, smooth, shiny, pale or waxy lump
- Firm red lump that may bleed or develops a crust
- Flat, red spot that is rough, dry or scaly
If you notice one or more of them for more than two weeks, see your doctor.
Research shows that many cancers can be prevented if people applied everything known about cancer prevention to their lives.
Some people have an elevated risk of developing skin cancer. Review the skin cancer screening guidelines to see if you need to be tested.
Behavioral and lifestyle changes can help prevent skin cancer. Visit our prevention and screening section to learn how to manage your risk.
In rare cases, skin cancer can be passed down from one generation to the next. Genetic counseling may be right for you. Visit our genetic testing page to learn more.
Did You Know?
How is skin cancer diagnosed?
A biopsy of the suspicious lesion is the only way to find out for sure if you have skin cancer. Your doctor will remove a small amount of tissue from the area. The sample then is looked at under a microscope. This also helps your doctor plan the best treatment for you.
Getting a Second Opinion at MD Anderson
The pathologists at MD Anderson are highly specialized in diagnosing skin cancer, from the more common to the extremely rare. We welcome the opportunity to provide second opinions for skin cancer.
Research shows that many cancers can be prevented if people applied everything known about cancer prevention to their lives.
Some people have an elevated risk of developing skin cancer. Review the skin cancer screening guidelines to see if you need to be tested.
Behavioral and lifestyle changes can help prevent skin cancer. Visit our prevention and screening section to learn how to manage your risk.
In rare cases, skin cancer can be passed down from one generation to the next. Genetic counseling may be right for you. Visit our genetic testing page to learn more.
What are the treatment options for skin cancer
Our Approach to Skin Cancer Treatment
Your skin cancer treatment at MD Anderson includes a plan customized to your specific type of cancer. Surgery is the most common therapy for skin cancer. Basal and squamous cell skin cancers usually are removed by one of the surgeries listed below.
Mohs Surgery
Very thin layers of tissue are removed and looked at immediately under a microscope. If skin cancer cells can be seen in the layer, the dermatologic surgeon continues shaving off layers one at a time until all cancerous tissue is removed. Mohs surgery causes less scarring and has a shorter healing period than removing the entire area at once.
Mohs surgery is done at a doctor’s office as an outpatient in a hospital. The skin is numbed. Occasionally a mild sedative may be given. MD Anderson has a Mohs and Dermasurgery Center dedicated to this skin cancer treatment.
Cryosurgery
Cryosurgery is less invasive than conventional surgery. The doctor applies liquid nitrogen or argon gas to the cancer tissue to freeze and destroy it. The tissue is then allowed to thaw. This process may be repeated.
Because the doctor can focus cryosurgical treatment on a limited area, destruction of nearby healthy tissue may be avoided. The treatment may be used with other therapies, including surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and radiation. Sometimes cryosurgery is an option when surgery is not possible.
Laser Surgery for Skin Cancer
Lasers use an intense, focused beam of light to destroy skin cancer tissue. The laser destruction, plus the body's immune response to the injury, results in a blistered wound that takes several weeks to heal.
The laser can be set to remove the skin in controlled layers, depending on the depth of the cancer. The surgeon may remove the top layer only or the top layer plus the next deeper layer and so on.
Lasers may be used to treat:
- Skin cancer in hard-to-reach places such as between the toes
- Superficial skin cancers
- Precancers
- Scars after skin cancer surgery
- Noncancerous skin growths
Electrodessication
A scraping instrument (curette) and electrical currents are used to destroy and burn small and superficial skin cancer. This also is called "scraping and burning.” The abnormal area is treated, along with a rim of surrounding skin called a safety margin.
Our Skin Cancer Clinical Trials
Because of its status as one of the world’s premier cancer centers, MD Anderson participates in many clinical trials (research studies) for skin cancer. Sometimes they are a patient’s best option for skin cancer treatment. Other times, they help researchers learn how to treat cancer and improve the future of skin cancer treatment.
Why choose MD Anderson for skin cancer care?
At MD Anderson's Ben Love/El Paso Corporation Melanoma and Skin Center, your skin cancer treatment is personalized to provide the most advanced therapies with the least impact on your body.
Our skin cancer program is one of the largest in the nation. This gives us a level of experience and expertise found in few other centers.
Renowned experts work together to customize your care. Beginning with the most accurate diagnosis possible, we offer comprehensive, yet specialized, care for every type of skin cancer.
And we're constantly researching newer, safer, more effective ways to prevent, diagnose and treat skin cancer. This translates into a range of clinical trials for patients with skin cancer.
You are not alone. There are so many of us who know what it's like to be thrown the curve ball of cancer. Fight on, and never give up.
After running the Boston Marathon 27 times, you'd think Bob Lehew
would have experienced every trial a runner could face. But this year,
he experienced a new challenge. Bob ran the race halfway into his six
weeks of radiation treatment for squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.
"I was happy to
see the finish line," he says, shrugging off the accomplishment modestly.
At age 71, Bob has run more than 220 marathons and a handful of
ultramarathons.
"I'm a pretty competitive guy,"
he says. "I guess pain and suffering are just my strong
suit."
Showing strength during squamous cell
carcinoma treatment
Bob had signed up once again for the Boston Marathon long
before he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in late January.
After he noticed a lump on his upper right check, he scheduled an
appointment. His dentist thought it was TMJ, but the biopsy showed
that it was cancer. He moved quickly and had the tumor removed by a
surgeon in Dallas. He then made an appointment at MD Anderson.
The tumor was located in the parotid gland. The facial nerve passes
right thru the parotid gland, and Bob worried that his surgeon would
have to cut the facial nerve in order to remove the tumor.
Fortunately, they were able to avoid this, but the nerve was
aggravated.
The procedure saved Bob's life, but left him
unable to move the right side of his face. He spoke clearly, but was
unable to smile. His right eyebrow was replaced with an arch-shaped
scar, often hidden by a "Boston Strong" baseball hat.
He also suffered from dysgeusia, which made it difficult for
him to taste, as well as some fatigue. "I'm not opposed to taking
a nap these days," he says.
Next, he began his
radiation treatments. But after three weeks, Bob skipped his radiation
treatment in favor of running 26.2 miles.
The Boston
Marathon had always been special to Bob, and he knew this year was
special to Boston. It would be his 28th consecutive Boston Marathon.
He had to be there. His doctor, Amy
Hessel, M.D. -- a marathon runner herself, "a lean, mean,
running machine," in Bob's words -- knew that marathon runners
can be a stubborn bunch.
"She didn't necessarily
recommend that I go," Bob says. "But she said, 'If you can
do it in the middle of radiation, then you'll be my
hero.'"
"That was a big inspiration," he
adds.
Bob finished the race in six hours forty minutes.
It was much longer than his personal record of two hours and 51
minutes at Boston back in 1988. But he finished. He attributed the
accomplishment to the sacrifices of his three children, nine
grandchildren, many friends and "a six pack of
doctors."
The next day following the marathon he was
back at MD Anderson, making up for the treatment he had missed on
Monday, the day of the race.
Getting back to
Boston after cancer treatment
For Bob, the Boston Marathon is what started it all. Bob has
always been athletic. He played for the varsity soccer team at Ohio
State University, but he was never much of a runner -- until he was
out jogging one day and saw a man wearing a jacket with a patch on it.
He thought the jacket looked cool and asked the man how he could get
one. The man told him he had to run the Boston Marathon. From that
moment on, Bob was determined. The man, Marvin, put together a
training program which Bob followed and qualified for his first Boston
back in 1987. He's been back every year since.
Even in
2010, after he'd undergone a bypass surgery, Bob laced up his running
shoes for the race against his doctors wishes.
"No
one ever accused me of being smart," Bob says.
With
his 28th marathon behind him, Bob is looking forward to finishing his
treatment, ringing the bell and getting back to work in Dallas. Once
he's home, he can start training to get back to Boston in 2015.
"Boston's still my favorite race," he says. "I
expect to be back next year, but with a much faster time."
