What is skin cancer?

Skin cancer is when your skin cells grow abnormally, and it’s often caused by exposure to the sun. If
caught early, it’s very treatable. The two main types of skin cancer are non melanoma and
melanoma skin cancer. Non melanoma cancers affect the upper layers of skin and tend to grow
slowly, whereas melanoma cancers affect deeper layers of the skin and spread more quickly.

Basal cell skin cancer (BCC) is the most common skin cancer. It develops in the cells that line the
bottom of the outer layer of skin, or epidermis and accounts for around 75% of skin cancers.
Squamous cell skin cancer (SCC) develops in the cells that line the top of the epidermis above the
basal layer (around 20% of skin cancers). Both BCC and SCC are types of non melanoma skin cancer.

Melanoma skin cancer is less common than non melanoma skin cancer. It develops from abnormal
cells in deeper areas of the skin, known as melanocytes, and can spread faster than non melanoma
skin cancer to other organs in the body.