Curettage and Electrodessication: Curettage and Electrodessication involve getting rid of the tumor with the help of an electrocautery device. The treatment involves destroying the tumor and then scraping the surface with the assistance of a curette. Often one can differentiate the tissues as being diseased or normal simply by feeling the texture while scraping the area. The process is carried on a few times to make sure that the tumor has been removed in totality. However this process should only be followed for tumors that are relatively small – less than 6 mm as the procedure may leave a scar.

Simple Excision: As the name suggests this procedure is very simple and involves a surgical excision of the lesion and a little bit of the normal skin. This process as apposed to curettage and electrodessication is ideal for tumors that are larger about 2 cm in size. This procedure is usually used to treat tumors that surface on the forehead, trunk, legs or cheek. Simple excision is one of the most easiest and inexpensive procedures. However it is essential that one consults only a good surgeon as the difference between the diseased skin and normal skin has to be judged only with the help of a naked and experienced eye.

Mohs’ Micrographic Surgery: Only a Moh’s surgeon can perform this surgery. The Moh’s Micrographic surgery is a very special kind of skin surgery that involves removal of the tumor surgically and instant examination under a microscope to figure out the margins. This process ensures that if any residual tumor is left it can be removed immediately. Under this procedure, the microscope is used to examine residual tissues over and over again to ensure that the area is wiped clean of the tumor. This is one of the best processes as it is definitive and it is most likely that the tumor will not occur again. However it is a very time consuming process and a very expensive one too.

Radiation Therapy: Radiation therapy is ideally used for patients who cannot undergo surgery. The process is simple and involves a course of radiation to the area that has been infected by the tumor. Often the procedure is used for tumors that are in areas that are difficult to operate on. The process is not very popular and is often used only where the tissue around the area infected needs to be preserved such as the lip.

Cryotherapy: This procedure is ideal for small, superficial and well defined tumors. It involves freezing the tissue in liquid nitrogen to destroy it. Cryotherapy is used as a treatment for actinic keratosis, which is a premalignant condition. This is indeed one of the most effective and efficient processes to destroy the tissue. However it cannot be used to treat a large number of cases.

- A flat or raised growth of black or brown color, often mixed with blue, red, or white parts, from 6 mm to few cm in size, may appear anywhere on the skin, in men mostly on the trunk, in women on the back and legs, and parts of the skin that are usually hidden from the sun, but were exposed to intense sunlight for short periods.
- Melanoma may show one or more of typical ABCDE characteristics: Asymmetry: one part of the tumor differs from other parts; Border of the tumor is irregular; Color: tumor may be of different colors, often several colors are present in one tumor; Diameter above 6 mm (in most cases), Evolving: lesion growths and changes color and appearance with time.

Melanoma Subtypes :
- Superficially spreading melanoma grows relatively slowly.
- Nodular melanoma grows rapidly – weeks to months. It tends to ulcerate and bleed.
- Acral lentiginous melanoma appears in dark skinned people (Afro-American, Asian, and Hispanic), mostly on their palms, soles, and under nails.
- Lentigo maligna melanoma. A macule grows slowly (years) as a patch, over 1-3 cm in size. It does not spread to other organs.

Treatment :
- Chemotherapy is often used to treat melanoma that has returned or spread.
- Medications such as interferon or interleukin, which boost the immune system to fight the cancer, may be useful in addition to chemotherapy and surgery. This kind of treatment is called immunotherapy. However, interferon has many side effects and can be difficult to tolerate.
- Radiation treatments may be used to relieve pain or discomfort caused by cancer that has spread.
- Cancer that has spread elsewhere in the body is sometimes removed with surgery to relieve pain or discomfort.

- Squamous cell carcinoma arises from squamous cells in the uppermost layer of epidermis – stratum corneum.
- It appears as a scaly, reddish, dome-shaped, fleshy nodule, from 5 mm to few cm (if left untreated) in size, often with a central ulcer. It mostly appears on sun exposed areas of the skin or lips.
- It grows slowly, but it can spread to other organs.

Risks for squamous cell skin cancer include:
- Having light-colored skin, blue or green eyes, or blond or red hair.
- Long-term, daily sun exposure (such as in people who work outside).
- Many severe sunburns early in life.
- Older age.
- A large number of x-rays.
- Arsenic.
- Chemical exposure.
- Chronic skin ulcers.
- Actinic keratoses (These lesions have the potential to progress to squamous cell carcinoma.).
At first cancer cells tend to spread only as far as the nearest lymph nodes clusters of tissue found in the underarms, groin, neck, and other parts of the body that help fight disease. When cancer spreads, they often trap cancer cells. structures, which filter out and trap the cancer cells. If spread has occurred, the affected lymph nodes can be removed before cancer spreads to vital organs.
With early detection and proper treatment, SCC is curable. Allowed to progress, SCC can invade and destroy much of the tissue surrounding the cancerous tumor, which can be disfiguring.
Some SCCs, such as those that develop on a lip or an ear, can be particularly aggressive. Left untreated, aggressive SCCs have a greater risk for metastasis (spreading) to the lymph nodes and other internal organs. This makes early diagnosis and treatment of SCC essential.

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA : This cancer is the most common type, and is the type of skin cancer that 90% of US citizen are diagnosed with.
- Basal cell carcinoma arises from the basal cells in the bottom layer of the epiderrmis – stratum basale.
- Basal cell carcinoma does not metastasize like the other skin cancers, but can still badly damage the area they occupy.
- It resembles a small nodule that is red in color, and located on the face, hands, or sometimes the torso. Occasionally, these nodules appear on the trunk of the body, usually as flat growths.
- Basal cell carcinoma can lead to the loss of organ function on such external organs as the ears or eyes.
- Although most cases of basal cell carcinoma are caused by the sun, other exposures can have the same results. Arsenic, severe burns, tattooing, vaccinations, and radiation can all cause basal cell carcinoma.

The variety in which basal cell carcinoma can appear makes for hard diagnosis. It can hide itself in the form of a mosquito bite, wart, rash, or cyst. For these reasons it is important for one to see a physician if any area of sun exposed skin looks unusual or has had prolonged pain.

The list below highlights some of the main causes:
- Having any deficiency of the immune system, that is having a condition that predisposes you to lowered immune system function, will increase the risk of developing skin cancer.
- Being exposed to abnormally high levels of X-rays may contribute to the development of skin cancer.
- Using tanning booths to acquire an artificial tan has been widely accepted as a substantial cause of the disease.
- Having a family history increases the risk of skin cancer.
- If you have several moles these can become cancerous growths on the skin’s surface.
- Some people are thought to be at a more significant risk, such as lighter skinned people, people with blond or red hair and green or blue eyes.

Symptoms of skin cancer :
- These include changes in the skin that do not heal, ulcering in the skin, discolored skin, and changes in existing moles, such as jagged edges to the mole and enlargement of the mole.
- In the case of the basal cell carcinoma generally a raised, smooth, pearly bump on the skin of the head, neck or shoulders is visible sometimes crusting and bleeding in the center of the tumor also develops.
- In the case of Squamous cell carcinoma a thick patch develops red in color. Ulcers and bleeding can also develop.
- The melanomas have brown or black colored lesions. The signs of malignant melanoma include a change in size, shape, color or elevation in the pre-existing mole.

Causes of Skin cancer :
- Smoking tobacco and related products can double the risk of skin cancer.
- Overexposure to UV-radiation.
- Chronic non-healing wounds, especially burns.
- Genetic predisposition.
- Human papilloma virus (HPV) is often associated with squamous cell carcinoma of the genitals, anus, mouth, pharynx, and fingers.
- Skin cancer is one of the potential dangers of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation.
- Deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals.

For the study, researchers at Cancer Research UK’s cell structure group at the University of Dundee compared cells of people with EBS to those without. When the EBS cells were damaged – or rubbed enough to cause blistering – their structure changed to stop them dying. The study found that when damaged cells continue to grow, it causes a process that allows a greater number of tumours to grow.
“Even slight damage to the skin of people with EBS can kick-start a signaling pathway which prevents the skin from killing and clearing damaged cells,” the Daily Express quoted Dr David Russell, Cancer Research UK scientist and the study’s lead author, as saying.