Definition

Skin cancer is a malignant growth on the outer layer of the skin. A malignant growth is one that has the potential to cause death. Skin cancers are often divided into two general groups: malignant melanomas and non-melanoma cancers.

Description

The outer layer of the skin (the epidermis) contains three kinds of cells. Most of those cells are squamous cells. Cells near the bottom of the epidermis are called basal cells. And cells that provide pigment (color) to the skin are known as melanocytes (pronounced MELL-uh-no-sites).

Each type of cell can become cancerous. The three types of skin cancers, therefore, are squamous cell cancer, basal cell cancer, and malignant melanoma (cancer of the melanocytes). Malignant melanoma is by far the most serious form of skin cancer.

Other forms of skin cancer occur, but they are quite rare. The most serious of these is Kaposi's sarcoma...