The skin, as the body's largest organ, is vulnerable to other types of cancer besides melanoma. They are typically less fatal, with fewer than 1,000 deaths among more than 1 million diagnoses in 2010. But nonmelanoma skin cancer does require treatment, most frequently surgery, and close monitoring.
BASAL CELL > The most common skin malignancy, it starts in the cells that form the base of the epidermis. Cancer usually forms on sun-exposed parts of the body, most frequently the face. It usually does not spread elsewhere in the body.
SQUAMOUS CELL > This malignancy, which develops in cells that form the skin's surface, also is most likely to appear in sun-exposed areas, such as the ears, the lower lip and the back of the hands. The cancer may spread to nearby lymph nodes.
