melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma are all the most common types of skin cancers.
carcinomas can be disfiguring — red, scaly, tender blobs — but they are less likely to spread to other parts of the body.
melanomas are an aggressive form of cancer that can spread to other parts of the body, making it a bit more worrisome, says kalia. it look like an unusual mole and can be identified by the abcde mnemonic:
asymmetry:
one side of the mole doesn’t match the other
border:
the melanoma isn’t round, it has ragged, uneven edges
colour:
it’s a variety of colours (brown, red, pink, black)
diameter:
it’s larger than six millimetres across, about the size of a pencil eraser
evolving
or
enlarging
: it’s changing in size, shape, or colour
the one common factor between all of these is that prevention lies in decreased sun exposure. squamous cell carcinoma comes from chronic, cumulative long-term sun exposure over the course of a lifetime, whereas the majority of melanoma shows up in people who get intermittent sun exposure when their skin isn’t used to it (i.e., those of us in canada who only get sun exposure during the summer or on a vacation). basal cell carcinoma is a mix of both.
sunscreen has been shown to reduce the risk on squamous cell carcinoma, but the evidence on melanoma is still uncertain. melanoma is much less common than carcinomas, and it’s harder to measure. the best evidence is a
study from australia
that showed melanoma was decreased in people who wore sunscreen.