Common Skin Conditions > Skin Cancer > Basal Cell Carcinoma: Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer and appears frequently on the head, neck and hands as a small, fleshy bump, nodule or red patch. Other parts of the body may be affected as well. Fair-skinned people are more prone to basal cell carcinomas. This type of cancer is rarely found in dark-skinned people. They do not spread quickly. It can take many months or years for one to grow to a diameter of one-half inch. Untreated, the cancer often will begin to bleed, crust over, heal and then repeat this process.
 This type of skin cancer very seldom metastasizes (spreads to other parts of the body), but it can extend below the skin to the bone and nerves, causing considerable local damage.
Treatment options include excision, topical chemotherapy, immune therapy, curettage and electrodessication and MOHS micrographic surgery. |
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