Causes of Pre-Cancer and Skin Cancer 

Pre-cancers and skin cancers are caused by too much sunlight in a fair-skinned, Caucasian. Most of us cook and fry that first 20 or 30 years of life and the damage is done. Often patients with skin cancer have a history of two or more bad blistering childhood sunburns. Occupational skin cancer occurs if we have had an outdoor job for 3 or more seasons. That includes being a lifeguard, a construction worker, a roofer, or a forest ranger. There are many of us who have outdoor jobs, and there are many of us who have indoor jobs but we get too much sun on the weekends. If you have blond or red hair, if you burn easily and it's hard for you to tan, if you have many moles on your body, if you have many large freckles or liver spots on your shoulders, or if you have a family history of skin cancer, you are at risk. We will enjoy doing a detailed skin exam on you.  Skin cancer is readily cured early on, but if neglected it can cause disability and even death.