Buzzapp Master 
CHANCES ARE, ONE out of five of you reading this will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the time you hit age 70. As the most prevalent cancer overall (beating out all other cancers combined), there are two main types: melanoma, the deadliest form, and nonmelanoma, the most common.
And guys would benefit from paying attention to their skin cancer risk. “The truth is that, in aggregate, men just don’t take care of their skin nearly as well as women,” says S. Tyler Hollmig, MD, Director of Dermatologic Surgery at The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. For example, men may be less likely to use sunscreen (and apply it properly) and wear sun-protective clothing and hats, he says. There may also be a propensity toward having jobs that require work outdoors, as well as a lack of self-screenings and dermatologist visits to detect a problem in its early stages, Hollmig adds.
Melanoma is more prevalent and deadly for men, which may have to do, in part, with a lack of education about the risks of sun exposure. Of the
104,960 new melanomas diagnosed in 2025, it’s estimated that 60,550 of them will be in men. Males also have a higher death rate from the disease—64 percent of deaths from melanoma this year are expected to be in men.
The good news is that it’s not too late to start giving your skin a little more time and attention, including learning how to spot a suspicious spot early. Because when you do, skin cancer is largely treatable, especially nonmelanoma types. But even for melanoma, when detected at stage 0, the five-year survival rate is around
97 percent.
Meet the experts: S. Tyler Hollmig, MD, is the Director of Dermatologic Surgery at The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. Hooman Khorasani, MD, is a dermatologic and cosmetic surgeon in private practice in New York City.
Skin cancer prognosis, treatment, and management all differ depending on what type is diagnosed. Consider this your skin cancer starter guide with what you need to know—plus how you can protect yourself without having to give up six-hour rounds of golf, beach days, or morning runs.
Common Forms of Nonmelanoma Skin CancerSkin cancer forms when damaged, abnormal cells in the epidermis (the outermost layer of skin) begin to multiply and grow into tumors. The most commonly diagnosed skin cancers are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, which make up about 99 percent of skin cancers. For these, UV exposure is a primary risk factor, though other influences, such as genetics, come into play, too.
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC)What it is: The most common form of skin cancer, making up about eight out of 10 skin cancer cases. These cancers start in the basal cells, which is the lowest part of the epidermis.
Symptoms: Dr. Hollmig describes these as skin-colored or pink skin growths that may be scaly or occasionally bleed. They are most likely to be on your face, head, neck, and arms—all body parts that see the sun the most.
That said, BCCs can also be pigmented and darker, called a pigmented basal cell. “This would look like a new mole that appears darker,” says Hooman Khorasani, MD, a dermatologic and cosmetic surgeon in private practice in New York City. “Typically this is associated with melanoma, but I’ve diagnosed more pigmented BCCs as opposed to regular melanomas lately.”
BCCs on darker skin tones may appear as a round or oval spot that’s darker than your natural skin, a firm dome-shaped brown or black growth, or a growing, shiny bump, says the American Academy of Dermatology.
Prognosis: BCCs are rarely fatal, but having one is a red flag that you may develop another.
One-quarter of people will have a new lesion within five years.
Treatment and management: These are typically
removed with techniques like scraping and burning, cutting it out, or freezing. One specific type of surgery, Mohs micrographic surgery, may be used depending on where the BCC is located, such as the nose and eyes. “Mohs surgeons use a microscope to ensure that all of the skin cancer is removed on the day of surgery, while also preserving as much healthy surrounding tissue as possible,” Dr. Hollmig says, adding that this is the gold standard for skin cancers “located in cosmetically or functionally important areas such as the head, neck, hands, feet, and genitalia.”
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)What it is: Cancer that develops in the squamous cells in the skin, which are those found in the upper layer of the epidermis, makes up about two out of 10 skin cancers.
Symptoms: Commonly, it’s a pimple that doesn’t go away, says Dr. Khorasani. “No matter how deep-seated a pimple is, the pimple should change—become a pustule, blackhead, or whitehead—within a month,” he explains. (The typical lifespan is two weeks, but some stubborn ones stick around a bit longer.) If it’s been more than four weeks and the “pimple” still stands, it’s not normal. It could be a cyst or a benign tumor—or a skin cancer. Get it checked out.
On darker skin tones, these patches might feel rough and be darker than your natural skin tone—or they may contain more than one color, including pink, red, or brown.
Also keep an eye out for scaly patches that bleed easily—SCC cells don’t stick together very well, making them apt to bleed for little reason, says Dr. Khorasani. “These are notorious for bleeding after shaving,” he says. “If you scratch yourself once and bleed, okay. But if it keeps bleeding, go see a dermatologist.”
Prognosis: Removal typically cures the cancer.
Most SCCs are slow-growing, though this type of skin cancer is more likely to grow deeper into the skin and spread. Still, it’s not common: Just
five to 10 percent of SCCs are considered aggressive. If SCCs spread to other organs, survival drops to
34 percent.
Treatment and management: These are handled similarly to BCCs, such as with surgery, freezing, topical medication, and lasers.
MelanomaWhat it is: This form of skin cancer begins in the melanocytes, which are pigment-producing cells in the skin. Only about 1% of all skin cancers are melanoma, though they’re responsible for the most deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.
Symptoms: Look for the ABCDEs of melanoma. If a mole or spot on the skin has the following, you should get it checked out:
A: AsymmetryB: Irregular borderC: Varying colors (tan, brown, black, white, red, blue)D: Diameter is often greater than 6 mmE: Evolving—it’s changing in size, shape, or colorThe symptoms above hold true for any skin tone. Darker skin tones can also look for a growing bump that has different colors (and may or may not bleed), a dark spot on the sole or palm that may grow, a patch of discolored skin, or a dark line or streak in a finger or toenail.
Prognosis: The earlier the diagnosis, the higher the survival rate, but there’s a 94 percent chance of five-year survival for all stages combined. Five-year survival drops to 35 percent if the melanoma metastasizes and spreads to far-away places in the body like the lungs or liver.
Treatment: This is determined by the stage of melanoma after diagnosis. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy are all tools that can be used to remove the cancer, treat tissue and organs if cancer has spread, and prevent recurrence.
Rare Forms of Skin CancerAlthough the vast majority of skin cancer is BCC and SCC (and, less commonly, melanoma), rare forms of skin cancer can occur—and they can be more aggressive when they do.
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC)What it is: This cancer forms in merkel cells, which are located in the top layer of the skin near nerve endings. This cancer can be fast to grow and spread. A cluster of risk factors could hit close to home for certain guys: Men are more at risk in the first place (two out of three cases are in males), as well as if they’re white (9 out of 10 cases) and/or over age 50.
Symptoms: The carcinoma may look like a painless red or violet lump, often on the head, neck, arms, legs, or trunk. (Areas where the sun shines.)
Prognosis: The five-year survival rate for all stages is 65 percent.
Treatment: Options to treat merkel cell cancer include surgery (to remove the cancer on skin as well as possibly lymph nodes), as well as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or immunotherapy. What’s used depends on factors like the stage of the cancer.
Sebaceous carcinoma (SC)What it is: This is an aggressive type of cancer that develops in the sebaceous (oil-producing) gland in the skin, primarily in the head or neck in your 60s. The eyelid is the most common place for a SC to develop.
Men are particularly vulnerable (one study out of England found that males were about 40% more likely to have SC compared to females), however, SC is extremely rare, affecting one (or two) in a million.
Symptoms: These are typically painless, flesh-colored solid bumps on the skin, though it may be other colors like yellow, pink, or red.
Prognosis: When diagnosed at the local stage (before it’s spread), five-year survival is 78 percent, though that drops to 50 percent when metastatic (has spread to a distant part of the body).
Treatment: Mohs micrographic surgery is often a go-to, since the tumor may be in very visible areas like the face.
Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP)What it is: This slow-growing skin cancer starts in the middle layer of skin and rarely spreads.
Symptoms: This is typically a small bump on the skin that looks like a deep pimple, rough patch, or scar. They can be pink or violet.
Prognosis: The 10-year survival rate is 99 percent.
Treatment: These, too, are treated with Mohs micrographic surgery, excision surgery, or possibly radiation or molecular targeted therapies.
Pre-CancerSome suspicious spots need to be removed to prevent the possibility of morphing into cancer.
Actinic Keratoses (AKs)What it is: AKs is a precancerous skin growth that develops because of UV exposure. AKs are found on 40 million Americans annually. In a 2024 global meta-analysis, AKs were found on 14% of the general population. Broken down by sex, these precancers affected 24% of males and 14% of females.
Symptoms: This could look like a brown spot, pimple, rough spot, or spot on the lips that looks like chapped lips. They can be a rainbow of colors—red, pink, flesh-colored, gray, yellow, brown, tan, or white.
Prognosis: Removal of the precancerous lesion will prevent skin cancer from developing, but you’ll need to have regular skin checks at least annually—your derm will let you know how often to come in.
Treatment: The precancerous cells are removed via methods like scraping, freezing, a chemical peel, laser resurfacing, or topical medication.
Skin Cancer DiagnosisA physical exam is the first step, where dermatologists will use a specialized handheld microscope called a dermatoscopy, says Dr. Khorasani. “90 percent of the time, that’s all that needs to be done.”
If there’s a concern about malignancy, which derms see with the dermatoscope, they’ll recommend a biopsy. This requires a small shot of lidocaine to numb the area, followed by removing a tiny piece of skin to have analyzed at a lab. “Two or three days later, the pathologist sends us a report to tell us if it’s benign or malignant,” he says.
One important point, adds Khorasani: “A biopsy is only a diagnostic tool—it is not a curative procedure.” If the spot was removed and the skin looks healed, you will still need to go in for another procedure to ensure that all of the cancerous cells have been removed. Otherwise, skin cancer can grow back.
How to Prevent Skin CancerSkin cancer may be common, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that it’ll happen to you. And, even if you were burned as a kid (many of us can recall a painful, blistering burn) or as recently as last week, taking steps now to safeguard your skin matters. “As a dermatologist, I sort of wish everyone could live in a cave, but unfortunately this is just not realistic,” Dr. Hollmig says. Instead, here’s what he and Khorasani recommend when it comes to guys and their sun habits:
Avoid the sun during peak UV light hours: That’s between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.Wear protective clothing: Baseball hats don’t provide enough coverage, so sport a wide-brimmed hat to shade your ears and cheeks, Hollmig says. As for clothing, he likes the brand Howler Brothers, which offers shirts and hoodies with built-in UPF35.Howler Bros Men’s H Bar B Snapshirt
Wear sunscreen: Opting for an SPF moisturizer can make a huge difference in boosting the regularity of your routine. “Choose whatever one with an SPF 30 or higher that feels like a moisturizer to you because you’ll be more likely to use it,” Dr. Khorasani says. Using a sunscreen that is also a tinted moisturizer is a hack he recommends for protecting skin while hiding blemishes and dark circles. Reapply every two hours. Khorasani likes Alastin HydraTint Pro Mineral Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF36. Apply enough SPF: Men should apply a shot-size amount of sunscreen (one ounce) for the body and a penny-sized amount for the face and neck, says Dr. Hollmig. Go in for a skin check: See a dermatologist for a full-body skin exam (FBSE) annually, Hollmig recommends. “FBSEs are quick and easy and really do save lives,” he says, adding that this is especially important if you are at a higher risk of skin cancer:You have fair skinYou have blonde or red hairYou have numerous frecklesYou have used or use tanning beds or have a history of sunburnsYou have an illness that affects your immune system (are immunosuppressed)You have a family history of melanoma or other skin cancers
Marlowe No. 128 Daily Face Lotion with SPF 50Credit: Joe Lingeman
Atwater Mineral Facial Sunscreen SPF 50Credit: joe lingeman
EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46Now 15% Off
Credit: Joe LingemanIf you have already had a skin cancer, you’ll need to go in more often–at least, initially. “If someone has a history of a non-melanoma skin cancer (basal cell, squamous cell), we recommend skin examinations by a dermatologist twice a year for several years before returning to annual exams,” says Hollmig. Having a previous diagnosis of a melanoma means you’ll need a skin exam every three to six months for the first two years, moving to every six months for three to five years, and then going back to annual exams, he says.
Tend to your immune system: Your immune system is the frontline fighter against skin cancer. “This is the one thing that’s more important than anything,” says Dr. Khorasani. “Do anything you can to boost your immune system—please don’t trash it,” he says. Stay away from smoking, eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, reduce stress, get sleep, and exercise.
Jessica Migala is a health writer specializing in general wellness, fitness, nutrition, and skincare, with work published in Women’s Health, Glamour, Health, Men’s Health, and more. She is based in the Chicago suburbs and is a mom to two little boys and rambunctious rescue pup.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings