There are three common types of skin cancer: Melanoma, BCC and SCC.

 

Each subtype comes with its own little variations. 

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Let's talk about melanoma first because that's the big, scary one!

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Melanoma occurs due to the malignant (cancerous) overgrowth of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce and store melanin. They live in little clusters at the basal level of the epidermis (the top level of the skin). Given their relatively superficial home, they can be seen on the skin as 'freckles' or 'moles'.

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Melanin provides the eyes, skin and hair with pigment. The melanin helps to absorb UV rays from the sun to protect the skin. Unfortunately, too much UV exposure can put a strain on the melanin-dense melanocytes and cause DNA damage. This may lead to a mutation, and subsequent unregulated cell division and growth - aka. cancer. (Read our general overview for the mechanism at a cellular level!).

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Firstly, melanocytes will grow locally in the epidermis, but once the cells invade the tissue beneath the basement membrane on which they live - you now have a malignant melanoma capable of spreading deeper and around the body. 

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Obviously, protecting yourself from UV rays is a good preventative method. But once the melanocytes have mutated and grow out of control - the changed appearance on the skin may raise the alarm for a quick removal. Some people decide to go for "mole mapping"whereby a professional takes high quality images of all your moles for a baseline in which to compare future images. 

- They look for new moles or old moles' change in appearance following the ABCDE principle. 

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A - Asymmetry  

B - Border (Irregular)

C - Colour (Darker or non-uniform)

D - Diameter (Size)

E - Evolution (Change)

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The high risk ones will be removed by a surgeon, and the removed tissue will be examined under a microscope to look for malignant cells. If they are found, the border of the removed tissue will be examined to make sure the edges are all clean, skin cells. If they find cancerous melanocytes on the edges, more tissue will need to be taken out to achieve "clean borders". If this is not achievable, the cells may have spread elsewhere and further investigations (scans, etc.) will be needed. 

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Let's talk about a few different types...

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Melanoma in-situ: If it's a melanoma that hasn't gone below the epidermis (just cancer cells chilling out in the basement, get it out before they move!).

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Melanoma then has a range of stages depending on the local invasion/spread (see stages).

 

Depending on the stage, melanoma can be adequately treated with surgical removal alone - or require chemo/radio/immunotherapy.

 

Early detection is critical for a good prognosis. 

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Basal Cell Carcinoma

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A BCC is a very common skin cancer seen on the face or neck most commonly (sun exposed regions). They're usually a raised, white lump - sometimes with ulcerations or blood vessels overlying. Basal cell cancers are malignant, but are extremely likely to remain locally (meaning excision alone is usually a sufficient treatment). 

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Squamous Cell Carcinoma

A SCC is less common than a BCC, but more likely to spread to other regions in the body (but less so than melanoma). They typically appear scaly and/or ulcerated. 

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That's all for now, get checked out regularly and wear your sunscreen folks!