Signs and Symptoms of Basal and Squamous Cell Skin Cancers

Skin cancers often don't cause bothersome symptoms until they have grown quite large. Then they may itch, bleed, or even hurt. But typically they can be seen or felt long before they reach this point.

Basal cell carcinomas

Basal cell cancers usually develop on areas exposed to the sun, especially the face, head, and neck, but they can occur anywhere on the body.

These cancers can appear as:

• Flat, firm, pale or yellow areas, similar to a scar
• Raised reddish patches that might be itchy
• Small, pink or red, translucent, shiny, pearly bumps, which might have blue, brown, or black areas
• Pink growths with raised edges and a lower area in their center, which might contain abnormal blood vessels spreading out like the spokes of a wheel
• Open sores (which may have oozing or crusted areas) that don’t heal, or that heal and then come back

Basal cell cancers are often fragile and might bleed after shaving or after a minor injury. Sometimes people go to the doctor because they have a sore or a cut from shaving that just won’t heal, which turns out to be a basal cell cancer. A simple rule of thumb is that most shaving cuts heal within a week or so.

Squamous cell carcinomas

Squamous cell cancers tend to occur on sun-exposed areas of the body such as the face, ear, neck, lip, and back of the hands. Less often, they form in the skin of the genital area. They can also develop in scars or skin sores elsewhere.

These cancers can appear as:

• Rough or scaly red patches, which might crust or bleed
• Raised growths or lumps, sometimes with a lower area in the center
• Open sores (which may have oozing or crusted areas) that don’t heal, or that heal and then come back
• Wart-like growths

Both basal and squamous cell skin cancers can also develop as a flat area showing only slight changes from normal skin. To see some examples of basal and squamous cell cancers, visit our Skin Cancer Image Gallery.

These and other types of skin cancers can also look different from the descriptions above. This is why it’s important to have a doctor check any new or changing skin growths, sores that don’t heal, or other areas that concern you.