Skin cancer symptoms vary depending on the type, but they share a common thread: a change in your skin that doesn’t go away. That change might be a new growth, a mole that looks different than it used to, or a sore that won’t heal. The three most common types, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma, each have distinct warning signs worth knowing.
Basal Cell Carcinoma: The Most Common Type
Basal cell carcinoma is the most frequently diagnosed skin cancer, and it tends to appear on sun-exposed areas like the face, ears, and neck. On lighter skin, it often looks like a skin-colored or pink bump with a shiny, almost pearly surface. You might notice tiny blood vessels visible through the surface. On darker skin tones, the bump typically appears brown or glossy black with a rolled border.
These growths can also take less obvious forms. Some look like a white, waxy, scar-like patch without a clear edge. Others resemble a flat, pinkish area that bleeds easily. A hallmark of basal cell carcinoma is the cycle of bleeding and scabbing over without ever fully healing. If you have a spot that repeatedly scabs and reopens, that pattern alone is reason to get it checked.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma Symptoms
Squamous cell carcinoma often starts as a flat sore with a scaly crust, or a rough, scaly patch that may develop into an open sore. It can also appear as a raised, wart-like bump. These lesions commonly show up on the face, ears, hands, and arms, but they can also develop on the lips, inside the mouth, and on the genitals. A new sore or raised area on an old scar is another presentation to watch for.
This type tends to look more irritated and inflamed than basal cell carcinoma, and the texture feels rough or gritty. It can also develop from precancerous spots called actinic keratoses, which are dry, sandpaper-textured patches caused by years of sun exposure. Most actinic keratoses stay harmless, but patients with more than 10 of these spots have roughly a 10 to 15 percent chance of eventually developing squamous cell carcinoma. A precancerous spot that becomes tender, thickens, ulcerates, or starts enlarging is suspicious for that transition.
How to Spot Melanoma
Melanoma is less common than the other two types but far more dangerous because it spreads more readily. The ABCDE rule is the standard framework for identifying it early:
- Asymmetry: One half of the mole doesn’t match the other.
- Border: The edges are ragged, notched, or blurred, and pigment may spread into surrounding skin.
- Color: Multiple shades are present, including black, brown, tan, white, gray, red, pink, or blue.
- Diameter: Most melanomas are larger than 6 millimeters (about the size of a pencil eraser), though they can be smaller.
- Evolving: The mole has changed in size, shape, or color over recent weeks or months.
Beyond the ABCDE criteria, dermatologists also use what’s called the “ugly duckling” sign. Your moles tend to look similar to each other. A mole that stands out as clearly different from all your others is worth attention, even if it doesn’t neatly fit the ABCDE checklist. Research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found this method catches about 86 percent of melanomas, and even non-clinicians could identify the odd-one-out mole with 85 percent accuracy.
Melanoma in Hidden Locations
Melanoma doesn’t always appear on sun-exposed skin. One easily missed form grows under the fingernails or toenails, called subungual melanoma. It typically shows up as a dark vertical streak running from the base of the nail to the tip, resembling a line drawn with a brown or black marker. The streak may be irregular in color, start narrow, and widen over time, particularly at the base of the nail.
As it progresses, the nail may split, crack, develop dents, thicken, or lift away from the nail bed. In some cases, there’s no dark streak at all. Instead, a small growth develops beneath the nail, lifting it up, or the nail simply starts to deteriorate without obvious pigment changes. Bleeding, ulceration, or a nodule forming under the nail are later signs. This type of melanoma is more common on the thumb and big toe.
Non-Visual Symptoms You Might Feel
Skin cancer is usually painless in its early stages, which is why visual changes matter so much. But some people do experience physical sensations. Itching around a skin growth is a recognized symptom, as is tenderness or pain in or around a lesion. These sensations can occur with any type of skin cancer.
A spot or sore that persistently itches, hurts, crusts, scabs, or bleeds is worth having evaluated, even if it doesn’t look dramatically abnormal. An open sore that hasn’t healed within three weeks is another red flag. Pain and itching alone aren’t reliable indicators (many harmless skin conditions cause both), but when they occur alongside a visible change in the skin, they add urgency.
Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Rare but Aggressive
Merkel cell carcinoma is uncommon, but it grows and spreads faster than most skin cancers. It typically appears as a firm, rapidly growing bump on the face, head, or neck. In lighter skin, the bump tends to look pink, purple, or red. In darker skin, it more commonly appears on the legs and may be skin-colored or red-brown.
The defining feature is speed. A bump that seems to appear out of nowhere and grows noticeably over weeks is the hallmark presentation. It’s painless in most cases and can be mistaken for a cyst or insect bite. Because it spreads quickly, early detection matters even more with this type than with basal or squamous cell carcinoma.
How to Check Your Own Skin
The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends a head-to-toe self-examination once a month. This means checking areas you don’t normally see: the soles of your feet, between your toes, your scalp (use a blow dryer to part your hair), behind your ears, and your back with a hand mirror. A professional full-body skin exam with a dermatologist at least once a year complements what you do at home.
When examining yourself, you’re looking for anything new, changing, or unusual. Specifically:
- A growth that’s increasing in size and appears pearly, transparent, tan, brown, black, or multicolored
- A mole or brown spot that’s getting bigger, thicker, or changing color or texture, or is larger than a pencil eraser
- A spot or sore that keeps itching, hurting, crusting, scabbing, or bleeding
- An open sore that hasn’t healed in three weeks
Photographing moles you want to track can make month-to-month changes easier to spot. The goal isn’t to diagnose yourself. It’s to notice the change early enough that treatment stays straightforward.