What Does Skin Cancer Look Like?
It’s estimated that around 40 to 50% of all fair-skinned people who live to be 65 or older will develop at least one skin cancer lesion in their lifetime.
image:flickr
Pretty scary statistics for all us fair-skinned people.
But if these skin cancers are spotted early, it can be treated.
Here’s the facts. Skin cancer – melanomas, basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas – usually start out as precancerous lesions, which, if detected early, can be treated.
So it’s really important that we are all able to spot the early warning signs.
WebMD’s put together a slideshow that is a pretty good primer to recognizing suspect lesions and moles that should be checked out by the doctor.
Ranging from Actinic Keratosis (Solar Keratosis), small, scaly patches caused by too much sun exposure commonly occur on the head, neck, or hands to Atypical moles, this slideshow really is great. Not only does it give you a visual guide to suspect moles but it also explains in detail what to look for and why using these ABCDE guidelines:
A is for Asymmetry – normal moles are symmetric. Those that are not should be considered suspect until proven otherwise.
B is for Border - moles with edges that are ragged, blurred, or irregular need to be checked out.
C is for Color – moles with more than one color also need to be checked out.
D is for Diameter – any mole larger that the size of an eraser at the end of pencil is suspect.
E is for Elevation – raised or elevated moles also need to be checked out.
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Tomorrow’s post: Common Skin Cancer Myths
hi im jessica and im only 13 1/2 and i have these like lumps of some thing and i think it looks like skin cancer i want to know what it looks like. can it kill you ???