Can a skin cancer develop in just a week

Can a skin cancer develop in just a week

http://www.chacha.com/question/can-a-skin-cancer-develop-in-just-a-week

No! Skin cancer takes several months to a year to grow and be noticeable. More questions? ChaCha is here for you 24/7!

Related Questions Answered on Y!Answers

Could this be a sign of skin cancer?

Q: A little background first: I developed eczema four or five years ago. I’ve only ever had it on my feet, hands and face. I’m what most would consider at “high risk skin cancer”. I have very light skin, blue eyes and it runs in the family. So recently I got a patch of rough scaly looking skin on my upper shin area (few months ago). It doesn’t look like it’s spreading, it’s about the size of a quarter, but hasn’t gone away.Then I noticed a rash type thing on my upper outside left arm. It’s even lighter then my normal skin color and a little pink around the edges. Also doesn’t appear to be spreading but hasn’t gone away either (been there a couple of weeks). And finally, on the underside of my right upper arm I noticed a small sore that has been there at least a week. It almost looks like a spider bite that you scratch a whole bunch and then once the swelling goes down and it scabs over…. It also resembles a burn from a very hot small drop of grease or something along those lines. So I’ve done some reading on basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer and from what they say the symptoms are it seems that I could have either one. I made a doc’s appointment but I feel like I’m on the edge of a nervous breakdown. I can’t stop worrying and wondering. I feel stupid because I’ve always had acne, eczema, and dry skin so I don’t usually pay that much attention to changes of my skin. So honestly I don’t really know exactly how long I’ve had all this stuff going on. I’m only 22 so I don’t suppose that it’s very likely I have cancer but I know it is definitely possible. So I guess the question is: Is it likely that the two rash type spots are just my eczema (seems weird cause I’ve never gotten it anywhere but my hands, feet and face), and maybe that sore is just a burn/pimple/bug bight that I didn’t notice I had? Does skin cancer usually only appear in one spot on the skin or is it possible to have multiple spots come up all at once? Sorry for the very long post, I’m probably just being dramatic and all but since I started worrying about all this I have felt sick to my stomach. Thanks in advance.

A: No one can really say from your description what this is. You didn’t say how old you are or how much sun exposure you’ve had, but an older age and lots of sun over your lifetime would increase the risk of skin cancer. If you are quite young, the risk is much lower. Second, skin cancer–both basal cell and squamous cell are not worth working yourself into a lather. Treated early, both have good cure rates. Nothing you describe here sounds like a melanoma, so I think that type of very serious skin cancer is highly unlikely.Finally, you could have multiple skin cancers, but more often a single lesion appears. Now, it’s time to make yourself busy, find something interesting and/or useful to do, and wait patiently for your doctor’s appointment. My feeling is that you are probably overreacting a bit, and that everything will be just fine.

I am worried I may have skin cancer?

Q: Ok, I’ve always been a bit of a hypochondriac and I am always worrying about things, but anyway, First off, ever since birth I have had this biggish mole in the center of my back towards the top, my brother, dad and mam all have ones very similar in the same place, but anyway, I’m not sure about theirs but mine feels a bit crusty round the edges, and I’m not sure if it counts but a few years back I was on holiday in turkey, I was swimming in the pool and forgot to put more sun cream on as I was having fun, anyway on the last day I noticed my shoulder were a little sore and the same on the flight home, when we got home I went to sleep, woke up my shoulders were still sore, and I looked at them in the mirror and I had fairly large blisters on both shoulders, we dressed them and for around 2 weeks I soaked in the bath and did other things to make them get better and they did, and that was a few years ago, but anyway, something which may be unrelated, I have these little spot sized bumps on my arms which look like spots without heads on them, however they do sometimes develop little heads and I can’t help but pick them, I thought they were just spots all part of puberty, (I’m 15) but my mam noticed them she’s a district nurse and said they look more like a rash, now please help me I’m seriously worried, almost terrified that I have skin cancer!

A: I would trust your mom’s advice, since she’s a nurse. If you are really scared that you have skin cancer, talk with your doctor about your concern of skin cancer, S/he can send you for a diagnostic exam to officially see if your skin condition is skin cancerI think you should go on ahead to your doctor for a solution or ointment to treat your skin if it indeed a rash for some relief

Is tanning now and then ok?

Q: These days, you hear everybody talking about things like skin cancer and avoiding sunlight like it’s a horrible toxic chemical. I have pale skin (by which I mean I have no sun enhanced tan currently). I live in Los Angeles and I would like to get a little color, but I just want to know i’m not doing something really dangerous to my body. I feel like I have good skin for tanning because I’m half greek and half french so my skin isn’t like super white, it’s LITTLE darker than a typical irish person naturally from my greek side, so I don’t burn easily. I will never go to a tanning bed because I don’t believe in fake tans, so any tans I get would be naturally from the sun. I would like to just keep a little coor going (by which I mean tanning for a half hour-hour per week) on the beach. Can I do this guilt free knowing that i’m not putting myself at major risk of skin cancer, or is it not safe. EXTRA SIDE NOTE: I don’t know if genetics have any relation to this, but my mother (who is full greek) tans for like an hour ever day in summer so she has a super dark tan, she’s been doing it since she was a teenager, (she’s 55 now) and she is a very healthy woman and has never developed skin cancer.I’m probably being paranoid…THOUGHTS???

A: they say everything causes cancer these days. carrots, shampoo, even sunscreen. you might as well get cancer the way you want to look. so hey i say go for it and trust me that is not a lot at all most people go to tanning beds all the time and sit in there for hours