The appearance of skin cancer usually relates to the type. A basal cell carcinoma usually looks like a raised, smooth, pearly bump and is often found on the head, neck, or shoulders. While a squamous cell carcinoma is a well-defined, red, scaling, thickened bump on sun-exposed skin. Melanoma, on the other hand, can manifest as a new skin mole or as one that is changing in appearance. The mole can be flat or elevated off the skin surface. Usually, the moles are dark in color, dark brown or black but can be red or blue too. The best way for an individual to identify melanoma is to use the ABCDE’s guideline