Warning Signs For SCC
As we continue in skin cancer awareness month of May, this week we’re gonna talk about warning signs for Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Last week we talked about warning signs for the most common type of skin cancer, Basal Cell Carcinoma.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common type of skin cancer. Like Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC), it generally does not spread to other parts of the body or affect the lifespan. Like the other types of skin cancer, SCC primarily arises due to long term sun exposure. Unlike, the other types of skin cancer, SCC has a well identified precancerous lesion called an Actinic Keratosis. Regular skin exams allow identification and treatment of Actinic Keratoses before they become an SCC.
Some of the warning signs of SCC are exemplified in the story of a recent patient. He was a tough older man, who was gasping in pain when I touched the new, rapidly growing SCC on his chest. The pain took his breath away. When I asked to look at the rest of him, I found a much larger BCC on his shoulder that his wife had been bandaging every day for years. It “didn’t bother him”, so he wasn’t worried about it at all and I had to encourage him to let me remove it. Pain is the number one differentiator in patient complaints between SCC and BCC. Squamous cell carcinoma is usually painful.
Here are some of the warning signs for SCC that I see and hear every day in the office.
1-Fast growing. Unlike BCC, SCC often grows pretty fast. They are hard to ignore. There is a particularly variant of SCC that can grow from nothing to quarter size in just a few weeks.
2-Crusty. Most BCCs are smooth and pink. Most SCCs are crusty and more white. Because SCCs are a growth of the outer layer of skin, they tend to have a crusty exterior.
3-Wart-like. Many patients describe their SCC as a “wart. These growths often look warty, and even the laboratory sometimes has trouble distinguishing a wart from an SCC on biopsy.
4-PAINFUL. Pain is the number one warning sign for an SCC by far. Patients will often describe pain even from “the sheets laying on it at night”. Not all SCCs are painful, but most are painful to touch.
If you or someone you love has a fast growing, crusty, painful growth, have it checked out by a dermatologist.
To learn more about SCC in detail, see our Squamous Cell Carcinoma 101, and check out the Skin Cancer Foundation’s website at www.skincancer.org.
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