Is skin cancer hereditary?

Can a squamous cell skin cancer grow under skin without any sign? I recently had a cut it turned into a sore.

• Went to the doc he removed it turned out to be squamous cell carcinoma. He said this is a skin cancer however my internal med dr. said this is not a skin cancer. I had no sign of anything wrong until I pinched it and a couple of days went by and a sore developed. Went to the dr immediately and they sent me to a surgeon. My question is how can you have a skin cancer growing and no sign of it? It was large when he opened up the sore the tumor was 2.5 x 2.5 cm. He said he removed all of it(clear margins according to pathology reports) which is GREAT but still feel so uncertain about this. If I couldn't see this cancer how do I know if I have any others and why is the internal med Dr saying this was not skin cancer? Because it was not on top of the skin and was only underneath? Please let me know what your thoughts are on this matter.

• Answer:

  What did the surgeon say about the SCC? Typically squamous cell of the skin often look like an obvious sore but sometimes can appear like a reddish swelling. Squamous cells are cancers of the epithelial cells. Here is a good web page that discusses SCC. http://www.skincancer.org/squamous/index.php You were fortunate to have received prompt treatment as 2.5cm X 2.5cm is a large squamous cell that needs immediate removal. I think there was some misunderstanding by the internist as it certainly appears like you had a squamous cell of the skin. A copy of your pathology report would tell you for certain so ask for a copy.