What are the signs of skin cancer?

Do you know the signs of skin cancer? Watch this short video with Dr Nirush Rameswaran on the early signs and symptoms of skin cancer, including potentially deadly melanoma.

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"During the early stages, skin cancer will often not cause any symptoms at all [which is why] it's very important to get your skin checked," says Dr Rameswaran. Learn more about skin cancer checks.

In the video, Dr Rameswaran explains how - contrary to popular belief - pain is not an indication of skin cancer. Malignant lesions usually feel no different to benign lesions, except in some cases where the skin cancer is itchy or tender to touch.

Dr Rameswaran says that most of his patients share their concerns about developing melanoma, but it is equally important to monitor for signs of other skin cancers too, such as basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which are far more common and can also be deadly.

"A symptom we might see in BCC is bleeding, but even aggressive BCCs can have no symptoms at all," says Dr Rameswaran.

But skin cancers don't always appear as a large or dark mole.

"A lot of the melanomas we cut out aren't the darkest or largest on the body."

Skin cancers can look like blisters or pimples, or simply a red patch that doesn't go away. Some skin cancers can be confused with insect bites.

"I usually say if it's lasting more than six weeks then we should definitely have a look at it. If we can catch these cancers early, it's not a big deal to get them managed."

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