Skin cancers occur three times more commonly than breast and lung cancers together and about 500,000 cases occur each year in the United States. The good news is that the three main types of skin cancer are very curable, if diagnosed early. Although early diagnosis is very important, prevention is even more so. Overexposure to sunlight is the major cause of these cancers. The Sunbelt migration of many retirees has increased the exposure to the sun, but this can be avoided by covering up in the worst exposure time, wearing a wide brimmed hat, and by applying a protective ointment, with a sun protective factor of 15 or higher, one hour before going outdoors.
Many elderly people acquire actinic keratosis or sun produced horny growth.
Basal cell cancers occur where the sunlight is most intensive, particularly in Caucasians with light eyes and light hair and a fair complexion. These cancers tend to be small nodules with a pearly colored border with tiny blood vessels running across it. They can ulcerate when they outgrow their blood supply and mimic a rat bitten appearance so these cancers are also called rodent ulcers. Rarely these ulcers have a blue to black color. This type of cancer can be quite destructive locally and I have seen a patient who lost her eye from erosive advancement of the cancer.