Skin Diseases

Four Major Types of Melanoma

Superficial spreading melanoma: The most common type; lesions are usually flat, irregular in shape, and contain varying shades of black and brown. It can occur at any age.
Lentigo maligna melanoma: Usually affects the elderly; involves large, flat, brownish lesions
Nodular melanoma: Can be dark blue, black, orreddish-blue, but may have no color at all. It usually starts as a raised patch.
Acral lentiginous melanoma: The least common type; typically affects the palms, soles of the feet, or under finger and toenails (AAD, 2010).

Basal Cell Carcinoma

Basal cells make up the lowest layer of the epidermis, the basal layer. Cancer inside this area is known as basal cell carcinoma, and it comprises about 80 percent of all cases of skin cancer (Columbia University, 2009). Most common in the head and neck, basal cell carcinoma is a slow-growing cancer that rarely spreads to other parts of the body. It usually shows on skin as raised, waxy pink bumps. Infiltrative basal cell carcinoma can appear translucent with blood vessels near the skin’s surface.

read more…..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal-cell_carcinoma

Melanoma

Less common than other types, melanoma is by far the most dangerous, causing about 75 percent of all skin cancer-related deaths (American Melanoma Foundation, 2009). It occurs in the skin cells that create pigment, and it creates moles or lesions that follow an ABCDE pattern in their irregularities:

asymmetrical shape
border irregularities
color
diameter
evolution of the lesion

read more…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanoma

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Squamous cell carcinoma affects cells in the middle layer of the epidermis. It is typically more aggressive than basal cell carcinoma. It appears as red, scaly, and rough skin lesions, typically on sun-exposed areas such as the hands, head, neck, lips, and ears. Similar red patches may be squamous cell carcinoma in situ (Bowen’s disease), the earliest form of squamous cell cancer.

read more…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squamous-cell_carcinoma

Types of Skin Cancer-Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, affecting one in five Americans during their lifetimes, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Skin cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells in the skin. Left untreated, these cells can spread to other organs and tissues, such as lymph nodes and bone.

read more…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_cancer