Signs and Symptoms of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

BCC:

• A non-healing, open sore that remains open for a few weeks, which bleeds or heals, crusts and then bleeds again.

• A reddish, sometimes irritating patch that usually occurs on un-covered areas: face, arms, legs or shoulders. The patch can crust, itch or hurt, while sometimes it causes no discomfort.

• A shiny bump that might be clear, pearly, pink, white or red. In dark skinned people it can be black or brown. In these cases, it can be confused with normal mole.

• A pink growth with elevated bowled borders with a crusted hollow in the center. With the enlargement of the lesion, small blood vessels may appear on the surface.

• A scar-like area usually with unclear borders; the area can be white, yellow or waxy and the skin around it seems stiff and shiny. These signs may indicate on invasive BCC that is larger than appears on the surface.

SCC:

• A non-healing, crusty red lesion with irregular borders that sometimes bleeds.

• An elevated growth with hollow in its center that sometimes bleeds. This kind of tumor might grow rapidly.

• A non-healing, open sore that bleeds and crusts for weeks.

• A lump that crusts and often bleeds.