Click here to return to the Top of This Page Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Ear Malignant Melanoma. This is the most dangerous of the skin cancers because it more commonly metastasizes. Every year an estimated 7,000 Americans will die from melanoma. It is important to note that the death rate is at last declining, because patients are seeking help earlier. Melanoma, like its less aggressive cousins, basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, is almost always curable in its early stages.
Early detection is very important.
Melanoma cells usually continue to produce melanin, which accounts for the cancers appearing in mixed shades of tan, brown, and black. Melanoma may suddenly appear without warning but it may also begin in or near a mole or other dark spot in the skin. For that reason learning how to perform skin examinations of your own body and eventually becoming aware of the location and appearance of the moles on our bodies is an important part of health and preventative medicine. Excessive exposure to the sun, as with the other skin cancers, is accepted as a major cause of melanoma, especially among light-skinned people. Heredity may play a part, and also atypical moles, which may run in families, can serve as markers, identifying the person as being at higher risk for developing melanoma.