Skin cancer does not have one look — the three main types appear differently, and the spots people miss are often the ones that seem harmless. This guide walks through what each looks like and the signs that mean a spot is worth checking. If one is on your mind, a doctor can review a photo of it for $49.
The three main types, and how they look
- Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) — the most common. A pearly or shiny bump, a pink patch, or a sore that keeps healing then breaking down (won’t heal). Grows slowly, rarely spreads.
- Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) — a scaly, crusty, or tender spot that grows, sometimes like a wart or a persistent rough patch.
- Melanoma — usually a new or changing mole with uneven colour, an irregular border, or one that stands out from your others. The most serious, because it can spread. Some types, like nodular and amelanotic melanoma, can be firm, pink or skin-coloured rather than dark.
The universal warning signs
Whatever the type, the same themes keep coming up. Have a spot checked if it is:
- New and unusual, particularly in an adult.
- Changing in size, shape or colour.
- Growing steadily.
- Bleeding, crusting, or itching persistently.
- Not healing — a spot that keeps coming back in the same place.
The spots people miss
Skin cancers hide in plain sight because they can look like ordinary marks — a “pimple” that won’t clear, a “dry patch” that won’t settle, a “mole” that is slowly changing. Meanwhile plenty of harmless spots — seborrhoeic keratoses, skin tags, milia, freckles, age spots — look alarming but are fine. Telling them apart is exactly where an expert eye, using dermoscopy, matters.
Get a spot reviewed
If a spot is worrying you, upload a photo and Dr Walia reviews it, providing written next-step advice from the submitted photographs, including when an in-person examination is appropriate. Get a spot reviewed — $49. Learn more about skin cancer.
Not a diagnosis; cannot rule cancer in or out.