Skin cancer

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Malignant melanoma	Melanoma - neck	Melanoma of the liver - MRI scan	Sentinel node biopsy
Skin	Skin cancer, close-up of lentigo maligna melanoma	Skin cancer, close-up of level III melanoma	Skin cancer, close-up of level IV melanoma
Skin cancer, malignant melanoma	Skin cancer, melanoma - flat, brown lesion	Skin cancer, melanoma on the fingernail	Skin cancer, melanoma - raised, dark lesion
Skin cancer, melanoma superficial spreading	Skin cancer, raised multi-color melanoma	Sun protection

Cancer - skin

Skin cancers may have many different appearances. They can be small, shiny, or waxy, scaly and rough, firm and red, crusty or bleeding, or have other features. Therefore, anything suspicious should be looked at by a physician. See the individual articles on specific skin cancers for more information.

Here are some features to look for:

• Asymmetry: one half of the abnormal skin area is different than the other half
• Borders: irregular borders
• Color: varies from one area to another with shades of tan, brown, or black (sometimes white, red, blue)
• Diameter: usually (but not always) larger than 6 mm in size (diameter of a pencil eraser)

Use a mirror or have someone help you look on your back, shoulders, and other hard-to-see areas.

Review Date: 10/26/2006
Reviewed By: Michael S. Lehrer, M.D., Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.