When it comes to skin cancer, there are three diagnosable types -- each with a different symptoms, treatments and mortality rates. If you think there is any chance you may have skin cancer, do not try to self-diagnose! If you think you have cancer, see a doctor. It is important to always consult a licensed health professional before seeking treatment for skin cancer.

The most common form of skin cancer is basal cell carcinoma, a slow-forming cancer with no risk of spreading to other body parts. As it is a relatively inert form of cancer, basal cell carcinoma has lower mortality rates than other cancers and is easiest to remove.

The second type, one that is more serious than basal cell carcinoma, is squamous cell carcinoma. This slow-growing cancer is not as inert as basal cell carcinoma, meaning that, if left untreated, it can spread to other parts of the body. Yet, though there are risks involved, squamous cell carcinoma is one of the easier skin cancers to treat, often requiring a simple removal via liquid nitrogen blast or hot knife incision. Though, in some cases, larger or more invasive attacks by this type of skin cancer may require more serious surgical procedures.

The third, and most dangerous, of the skin cancers is malignant melanoma. This highly fatal cancer is known for its fast growth and ability to spread throughout the entire body. If left untreated, malignant melanoma is the deadliest of them, thus it is important that it is diagnosed and treated very quickly. Those who suffer from malignant melanoma often require surgery, as it is imperative that the cancer be removed from the body before it has time to grow and affect other organs. If left untreated, this most deadly cancer will spread throughout the body, attacking other organs, transforming into other forms of skin cancer and other lymphomas.

People often worry about skin cancer and wonder what they should be on the look out for in the way of warning signs. People want to know what the most common signs are, and what they should and should not be concerned about when they look at themselves in the mirror. Sadly, there is no one telltale sign of skin cancer -- rather there is a package of skin changes you should keep an eye out for, checking constantly that your skin is free and clear of them. This is especially important for those who spend a great deal of time outdoors and those who had a lot of sunburns when they were younger.

While there is no one sign of skin cancer that is experienced by everyone who has it, there are a few warning signs that you should be aware of, signs that may or may not point to skin cancer. The first of these deals with moles - if you notice any new moles, or old moles that have changed in size or color (especially becoming larger or darker), you should see a doctor. These types of changes are often signs of malignant melanoma. The most dangerous form in its early stages, malignant melanoma often takes the form of a common mole before developing into a more serious condition.

The second warning sign you should keep an eye out for is the development of new open wounds. This is especially important if these wounds appear in places on which you have previously experienced sunburn, or places which have gotten a great amount of sun exposure over the years. These types of sores may be serious -- sometimes bleeding or emitting puss -- and often have irregular edges, a sign that cancerous sells may be involved and growing beyond the sore's boundaries.

Armed with the knowledge of these most common skin cancer warning signs, it is important to keep an eye out for them. Examine your skin relatively often, with these specific things in mind. If you spend a lot of time in the sun, you should make sure that you check your skin regularly for these warning signs, in order quickly spot the development of any potentially cancerous patches. If you spot something that you think may be a potential skin cancer warning sign, make an appointment with a dermatologist and have it looked at as soon as possible.

Like many other types of cancer, it is likely that those suffering from skin cancer will not exhibit any visible symptoms to lead them to say, "This is skin cancer, and I should go see a doctor to get it taken care of." Developing it, unlike coming down with a cold of catching the stomach flu, does not come with an obvious set of symptoms that scream, "This is skin cancer!" Aside from a simple mole or a splotchy patch of skin, it is rather symptom-less.

As there is no one definitive set of skin cancer symptoms, the disease is one that is extremely hard to self-diagnose. For this reason, you should never try -- always consult a physician. The signs of this cancer are so widely varied -- coming in any number of sizes, shapes and colors -- that it is virtually impossible. Plus, there is the added fact that what may appear to be the most inert form of skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma) may actually be the most dangerous (malignant melanoma) and vice versa. This means that one should never take it upon themselves to try and self-diagnose skin cancer. If you see something that looks to be a symptom, always make sure you consult a doctor.

Although you cannot self-diagnose skin cancer, there are a few telltale skin changes that you should always be on the lookout for. And, while these are not always necessarily harbingers of skin cancer, they should be taken seriously as potential warning signs. These include new moles, or old moles that have changed in color or size. Another set of possible symptoms include areas of splotchy or discolored skin and areas where you have developed pussy discharges or unusual bleeding. If you notice any of these changes, you may want to make an appointment with your doctor and ask him or her to take a look.

The most important thing to remember about skin cancer is that, while there may be warning signs, ultimately, it is completely symptom-less. Many who suffer from skin cancer, no matter what form, do not notice until the cancer starts to spread. By the time they develop more serious symptoms like dramatic weight loss or constant fatigue, the cancer may have spread to other organs and become more serious than it would have been if spotted and treated early.

Young adults start getting non-melanoma skin cancers. If you develop non-melanoma skin tumor, you have 50% or more chances that you will get another non-melanoma skin tumor within 2 to 3 years. And if you develop second one, 75% will go on to get a third.

Non-melanoma skin cancer is more dangerous for people under 40 between 1976 and 2003. And if you are a woman, you can get non-melanoma skin cancer easier than a man. It is getting higher possibility to get this cancer after 1970s. More than 80% - 90% of these skin cancers appeared on skin which is often exposed to the sun.

In United States there will be 2,800 people in danger this year. Unfortunately screening could increase the number of cancers identified this year. But better screening can turn up cancer in an earlier stage. The most common cancer types in America are cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma.

1986 to 2001 was the early stage of melanoma which was reported. Ultraviolet light increases the possibility of melanoma. 80 to 90 percent of people who has got non-melanoma cancer because of the sun exposed sites. These areas include the head, neck, face, tips of the ears, hands, forearms, shoulders, back, chests of men, and the back and lower legs of women. Full-body tanning is better than showing up on the torso. And people have to be careful not to tan their head or neck because they are the most dangerous sites.

The key is to avoid being in the sun or using sunlamps. If you're going to be in the sun for any length of time, you should wear clothes made from tight-woven cloth so the sun's rays can't get through to your skin, and stay in the shade when you can. Wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect your face, neck and ears.

Scientists have long wondered why some skin cells developed into moles, and some skin cells develop into the deadly skin cancer, melanoma. Well, recently US researchers have theorized that this is due to a missing protein known as IGFBP7. This naturally secreted protein prevents cells from developing into melanoma, and this action holds promise to improve treatments for melanoma, the skin cancer most likely to be fatal unless caught in the early stages.

If not caught in the early stages, melanoma can be a particularly virulent form of cancer, spreading through the body with an efficiency that few tumors possess. It has recently been discovered that unlike many other cancers, melanoma is born with its metastatic engines fully revved. In other words, in melanoma, when the melanocytes--cells that protect the skin from sun damage by producing pigmentation--morph into cancer cells, they immediately reawaken a dormant cellular process that lets them travel swiftly throughout the body.

The most interesting and important fact is that IGFBP7 is part of our bodies natural defense against cancer, and in the case of melanoma, this protein appears to turn off. Recently a lab test on mice was performed on melanoma cells with a synthetic form of the protein, and the cancers actually stopped growing.

What that means is that IGFBP7 could be used as a targeted treatment, because the melanoma is sensitive to the protein. Melanoma, a less common but the most deadly skin cancer, kills close to 9,000 people in the United States alone.

The interesting fact is, that moles, also know as nevi, are harmless, are caused by an uncontrolled growth of melanoytes, as is melanoma. Studies have shown that a mutation in a gene called BRAF, causes cells to multiply abnormally in both melanoma and moles, and it was by studying BRAF that they discovered the protein IGFBP7 found the code that is responsible for this natural defense system. The interesting thing is that this protein is secreted, therefore it can affect the cells surrounding, unlike most proteins which only work inside of cells. It appears to communicate to the surrounding cells to ignore the BRAF mutations and tells them to either self destruct... or at least hibernate.

Day by day the cases of skin cancers are increasing. Even the most developed countries like U.S. are not able to resolve this problem drastically. Hence care should be taken by every individual to reduce the occurrence of the disease. People with fair complexion should take utmost care of their skin because they are most likely to develop the disease if they neglect it. But the symptoms cannot be easily identified by an individual. even when the skin is in normal conditions, he rarely develops sores or swellings. Hence he may think that the problem is minor but it is actually the onset of cancerous activity. If the skin is treated at an early stage of cancer then it is easily curable. Hence an individual should visit the doctor and get tested and diagnosed as quickly as possible.

Following are the examinations conducted by the doctor for the patient suffering from skin cancer:

a. Physical examination: the problem of skin cancer can be easily understood by the doctor just by conducting minor tests. Skin cancer can be diagnosed easily when compared to the other types of cancers. The doctor may get an idea about the skin disease just by conducting the physical examinations. The doctors get an idea about the unhealthy skin even if he just physically examines your hands. He just examines the state of your skin and asks you some common questions. He may ask you if any of your family members suffered from the disease earlier. He may briefly ask you about your lifestyle, habits and food. Then he may ask you about your work environment to know if you are exposed to harmful radiations in your daily life. If he finds out that you continuously work under conditions where you are exposed to radioactive substances or harmful radiations he examines you even more critically.

b. Biopsy: biopsy is a method of taking out the affected part of the skin and examining it under microscope to know the presence of cancerous cells. It is considered as one of the most effective tests of knowing cancerous. The presence of cancerous cells can be easily noticed under a microscope. These tests are only conducted by the doctors. In case there are any abnormalities in the epidermal layer then it can be easily noticed. Through the biopsy the level of infection of the skin can also be accessed. Through the method of biopsy it is very easier to know if a person is suffering from melanoma or not. After biopsy even further tests are conducted.

c. Chest x-rays: by passing x-rays through the chest the picture about the chest is obtained. In this way the presence of melanoma can be noticed.

d. Blood tests: blood tests are conducts in order to know if the other organs are infected by cancer or not. If the cancerous cells are present then certain enzymes will be noticed. Blood test is usually the final test that is conducted to really confirm if cancerous cells are present or not.

The aim of treatment is to remove the cancerous cells or tumors that are present into the skin. The operation of cancerous cells of the skin is easier and does not require any incisions or excisions as required for the other surgeries. There are two types of skin treatment i.e. localized treatment. Systematic treatment. The localized treatment is given to those patients for whom the infection has spread only to the localized area and the infection has not spread to the other areas. Systematic treatment is adopted by the doctors when the infection of the skin has spread to the other organs or parts. When the infection is really severe then localized treatments do not work out effectively.

The techniques used for treating skin cancer are:

a. Surgery: surgery is more effective to the disease that is not severe. In other words if the skin cancer has not spread to the other parts then surgery is the effective method. The tumorous or cancerous growth is removed. The lesions or the tumors that are developed are extracted through surgical procedures.

b. Radiotherapy: when the infection is severe and the tumors cannot be operated just by a surgery then the method of radiotherapy is used. Either the radiation generating source is kept outside the person's body or a person is injected. The external radiotherapy works out more effectively for the skin.

c. Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is a systematic type of treatment where the chemical reagents are inserted insider the body and these substances cause some reactions and destroy the cells inside the body.

The localized treatment is useful for treating the BCC and SCC and melanoma requires systematic treatment.

Frequently doctors do not use one single technique, but uses the combination of two techniques. The cancerous cells are effectively destroyed when two or more methods are used. But there are many side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The cancerous cells are affected and so also the normal cells.

There is a new skin cancer treatment that is causing a huge buzz. Huge enough that two major Drug makers, GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Synta Pharmaceuticals Corporation will be collaborating on the development of an exciting and very promising new skin cancer drug treatment. This drug treatment has been shown to aid in even Stage 1V melanoma, which kills 70 per cent of its victims within one year

Named STA-4783, this is a new, injectable drug candidate that kills cancer cells by overloading cancerous cells with oxygen. Since cancer cells have a much lower tolerance for oxygen than non cancerous cell do, this causes them to self-destruct. This is a new category of anti cancer therapy, with remarkable potential.

In layman's terms, STA-4783 raises the level of oxygen inside of the cancer cells. Cancer cells can not tolerate as much oxygen as normal cells, and this drug elevates the oxygen inside the cancer cell, and this causes the cell to pass the critical breading point, It then undergoes apoptosis, or programmed cell death. STA has little or no effect upon normal non-cancerous cells.

The fact that this anti cancer strategy can differentiate between the healthy and unhealthy cells targeting only the cancer cells is why scientists are so excited and are hopeful that this treatment will be successful in treating a broad range of cancers

In a double blind study, it was found that STA-4783 when used in moderate doses with Taxol (or paclitaxel), will double the progression free survival in Stage 1V melanoma as compared with Taxol along.

Melanoma is a very deadly skin cancer once it has spread past its site of origin. In Stage 1V melanoma, the cancer has spread all through the body, and the survival rate of people with Stage 1V metastic melanoma is 7-10 months. Since there are very few drugs that are useful for people with advanced skin cancer, this is an important breakthrough.