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Understanding Skin Cancer
Skin cancer begins in cells, the building blocks that make up the skin.
Normally, skin cells grow and divide to form new cells. Every day skin cells
grow old and die, and new cells take their place.
Sometimes, this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the skin does
not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can
form a mass of
tissue
called a growth or
tumor.
Growths or tumors can be
benign
or
malignant:
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Benign growths are not cancer:
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Benign growths are rarely life-threatening.
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Generally, benign growths can be removed. They usually do not grow back.
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Cells from benign growths do not invade the tissues around them.
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Cells from benign growths do not spread to other parts of the body.
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Malignant growths are cancer:
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Malignant growths are generally more serious than benign growths. They may be
life-threatening. However, the two most common types of skin cancer cause only
about one out of every thousand deaths from cancer.
-
Malignant growths often can be removed. But sometimes they grow back.
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Cells from malignant growths can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs.
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Cells from some malignant growths can spread to other parts of the body. The
spread of cancer is called
metastasis.
Skin cancers are named for the type of cells that become cancerous.
The two most common types of skin cancer are
basal cell cancer
and
squamous cell cancer.
These cancers usually form on the head, face, neck, hands, and
arms. These areas are exposed to the sun. But skin cancer can occur anywhere.
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Basal cell skin cancer grows slowly. It usually occurs on areas of the
skin that have been in the sun. It is most common on the face. Basal cell
cancer rarely spreads to other parts of the body.
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Squamous cell skin cancer also occurs on parts of the skin that have
been in the sun. But it also may be in places that are not in the sun. Squamous
cell cancer sometimes spreads to
lymph nodes
and organs inside the body.
If skin cancer spreads from its original place to another part of the body, the
new growth has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the
primary growth.
It is still called skin cancer.
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