I was diagnosed with squamous cell skin cancer yesterday. Five weeks ago, I spent a week in Florida. Only two of those days were warm enough to wear short sleeves. While I was there, I noticed a spot on my arm that got red and irritated looking. After I got home, I called the dermatologist and saw him three weeks later. By then the area got bigger and part of the top formed a scab, which fell off and created a hole that bled. The dermatologist called me yesterday and said it was a small squamous cell skin cancer, and since it was removed, this is probably the only treatment. I have another appointment in two and a half months for a follow-up. I had a melanoma on my thigh six years ago. I had a wide excision and follow-up with blood work and chest X-rays for five years. I am very fair (100% Irish) and got a lot of sunburns when I was a kid. I would just like to encourage people to not ignore anything on their skin because the sooner it is removed, the better the outcome. And I am still shocked at how quickly this came on and that it is cancer. It is scary to hear the word cancer in your diagnosis, and it does help to talk to other people who have gone through the same thing. I'm happy to report that I'm doing well and am encouraged that this new skin cancer was caught early. Published: September 10 ::

I am a 53 year old woman. Being blonde and blue-eyed, I have very light skin. In my younger years, I played and worked in the sun a lot. I would describe my use of sunscreen as sporadic. My mother had skin cancers throughout her life; she had several incidents of squamous cell carcinoma. At least one time, she had a melanoma (on her nose). Recently, I tripped on some metal stairs and injured both of my shins. As they healed, they both produced hard and irregular scar tissue. The one on my left leg was painful to the touch, red, and had a raised "bump." So, I made an appointment with my doctor. After examining the spot on the left shin, he said, “This looks like a skin cancer and will probably have to be removed surgically." He referred me to a dermatologist. The dermatologist took biopsies of both spots and, sure enough, the lab report showed a squamous cell carcinoma on the left shin and a pre-cancer. (I can't remember the name). I just made appointments for the Mohs procedure on the left and a scrape and burn on the right. Published: September 10 ::