However, lesions can also form on areas such as your palms, beneath your fingernails or toenails, and in your genital region.Skin cancer affects people of all skin tones, although its appearance and typical location may vary based on a person's complexion.
Symptom Variations
Different forms of skin cancer have different signs and symptoms.
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), for example, normally develops on the neck or face. It may appear as a pearly or waxy bump, or as a flat, flesh-colored or brown scar-like lesion.
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) also typically develops on sun-exposed areas of your body, such as your face, ears, and hands, although it may appear in other areas in people with darker complexions.
SCC may appear as a firm, red nodule or as a flat lesion with a scaly, crusted surface.
Melanoma, meanwhile, can develop anywhere on your body, either in healthy skin or in moles that become cancerous. In men, it develops most often on the face or torso, but in women, it is more commonly found on the lower legs.
Melanoma affects people of all skin tones, but in people with darker complexions, it is more likely to occur in areas not normally exposed to the sun, such as the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
Signs of melanoma include:
A large, brownish spot with darker speckles
A mole that changes in color, size, shape, or sensitivity, or that bleeds
A small lesion with an irregular border and portions that appear red, white, blue, or blue-black
Dark lesions on your palms, soles, fingertips, or toes, or on mucous membranes lining your mouth, nose, vagina, or anus
Less common types of skin cancer, such as Kaposi sarcoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, and sebaceous gland carcinoma have different signs and symptoms.
Diagnosis
Check with your doctor if you see any changes to your skin, such as those described above.
Your doctor may examine your skin to assess whether any changes are a sign of skin cancer, and may also possibly remove all or part of the affected area for lab testing. A biopsy can determine whether you have skin cancer and, if so, what type you have.
If your doctor determines that you have skin cancer, you may undergo further tests to determine the extent of the disease.
These tests may include imaging to examine the nearby lymph nodes for signs of cancer, or a procedure in which a nearby lymph node is removed and tested for signs of cancer (sentinel lymph node biopsy).
Superficial (surface) skin cancers such as BCC rarely spread. Therefore, a biopsy that removes the entire growth may be the only test needed to determine the extent of the cancer.
If you have a large SCC, Merkel cell carcinoma, or melanoma, however, your doctor may recommend additional tests.
Cancer is typically classified using a system of Roman numerals — I through IV — to indicate its stage of progression.
Stage I cancers are limited to the area where they began, while stage IV indicates advanced cancer that has metastasized (spread).
Your treatment will likely be based on the stage of skin cancer you have.
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