What Is the Most Common Type of Skin Cancer?
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common cancer in the United States. Approximately 500,000 new cases occur each year. We treat this kind of skin cancer many times daily in our office. It usually appears as a pimple-like spot that does not seem to go away. Almost all patients thought it was a pimple at first. They tend to pick at it, believing this is the reason the lesion persists. Any pimple should be gone within 1-2 months. If a pimple is still on the face after a 2 month period, make sure we check it. This cancer does not usually metastasize (one study reported one in 3000 spread to other organs) and, therefore, it is rarely fatal, except in persons who neglect it. It does grow locally in the area in which it develops with the potential of destroying adjacent structures (for example nose, cheek, eyelid, etc.) and must, therefore, be treated to prevent this.
