is this really skin cancer

[warney]

I have had this small red lump on my hand for a couple of months, It ha a white thing in the middle which is a small bit of rough skin.  Over the last few weeks I have seen it go from what looked lime a perfectly round small pea. the edges are now spread out and not as round as they were - a bit irregular now. it is painless but someitmes a tingly itch. wasnt sure how or if i could post a pic here so have changed my profile pic, there are also some pics of it on my profile page.  I always thought that skin cancer wqas a brown mole but now have had a couple of people try and tell me it is skin cancer!!!!!!

[ItstheSky]

I thought the same thing! I didn't learn much about the other unique-looking types of cancer when i was in school for skin therapy...So it's good to learn something new. All of us should have that knowledge because it's good to know what to look for. Thanks for sharing!

[warney]

I will for sure.  Just hope the one on my back has not been there too long as I didnt know it was!  I thought skin cancers were moles

[ItstheSky]

Oh my goodness! Sorry to hear that! The good news is it was caught. Skin cancer is the most treatable form of cancer. It's good to stay on top of it, but I wouldn't worry too much. Good luck and thanks for the response and letting us know the outcome! Keep us posted!

[warney26]

HI and thanks. since posting this though I attended a skin clinic and unfortunately it is a squamous cell carcinoma :(   Also, either luckily or unluckily (will know next week) while I was there the specialist had a look over my entire body. On my upper back there is a Hutchinsons FReckle, it looked so small and harmless when I saw it on the screen that even if I knew it was there, I would not have had it looked at.  However under the scan the image was a shock, very irregular, flat and light tan.  Apparently it is one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer but until the biopsy comes back I wont know how far it has spread. Apparently they are both quite aggressive but at this stage, am still in the dark re treatment options.
I guess its a warning to us all. Skin cancer comes in all sorts of appearances. I always looked out for darkish brown moles that looked a funny shape to the naked eye. to the naked eye both of these appeared round but on the scan - far from it

[maatson]

The minimum investigation you would need is a dermatoscopy which is
non- invasive ,yet would give a fairly clear diagnosis here.
Do consult a dermatologist.

[ItstheSky]

Skin cancer is more in the form of a birth mark and is usually brownish, abnormally shaped (not round) or has splotchy patches on it.
If you are concerned, you should definitely see a doctor or visit a clinic just to double check. If they can't give an immediate diagnosis they will most likely want to do a biopsy, which is pretty simple. Better to be safe than sorry! Good luck..