Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is very serious. It can kill you. Skin cancer is a extremely serious condition affecting over millions of Americans every year. It is a fatal disease that can render you weak. Its incidence is multiplying every year, and yet, it is found to be preventable. With over a million new cases diagnosed annually in the United States, about eighty percent will be basal cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma constitutes the sixteen percent and four percent of the cases are melanoma. Skin cancer frequently appears on the areas of the body often exposed to the sun's rays.
Types of Skin Cancer

Basal Cell Carcinoma


Is commonly seen in people with fair skin, light hair, and green, blue, or grey eyes although it may also affect dark skinned people. It is a slow growing type of cancer that is usually confined to one area of the body. It is also detected easily, thus increasing its chances of getting cured by 95 percent.

The five symptoms of basal cell carcinoma:
An open sore that bleeds, oozes, or crusts and remains open for more than three weeks.
A reddish patch on chest, arms, shoulders, or legs. May itch or hurt, or may not.
A shiny bump or nodule that's translucent. Can be any color, from white. pink, or red to tan, black, or brown. May be confused with a mole.
A pink growth with a slightly elevated rolled border. Has a crusty center indentation. Tiny blood vessels may develop on the surface.
A scarlike area with poorly defined borders. Color is white, yellow or waxy.


Squamous Cell Carcinoma



Is frequently seen on areas that are always exposed to the sun's radiation although it may also be seen on any part of the body. They are often found on the skin but in some cases, it spreads to nearby tissues and organ systems, rendering it fatal. It commonly occurs on injured skin, like burns, scars, sores that have not yet healed for several weeks, or areas exposed to chemicals and radiation from x-rays. Sometimes, carcinomas appear just for no reason. Squamous cell carcinomas may also be genetically inherited.

People with fair skin are predisposed to develop this type of carcinoma although about two thirds of dark skinned individuals with skin cancer are of the squamous cell type.

The symptoms of squamous cell carcinomas:
A wartlike growth that crusts and may bleed.
A red, scaly patch with irregular borders that bleeds of crusts.
An open sore that bleeds and crusts for weeks and doesn't heal.
An elevated growth with a central depression that may bleed and could grow rapidly.

Squamous cell carcinoma has a better than 95 percent cure rate if detected and treated early.


Melanoma


The most serious form of skin cancer is melanoma which is easier to cure when detected in its early stage but fatal when the cancer spreads. The number of Caucasians affected with melanoma has tripled in the last twenty years. For women aged 25 to 29, melanoma is responsible for almost eighty percent of skin cancer fatalities.

Melanoma originates in the melanocytes, where the body's pigmentation is produced. Most melanomas are dark in color, either black or brown, but they can also be devoid of pigmentation, and become skin-colored, pink, red, or purple.

In situ melanoma cells responsible for the production of melanin, the body's pigment. Most melanomas are either black or brown but may sometimes be pink, red or purple. In situ melanoma are localized melanomas while invasive melanomas are those which have spread to other parts of the body, making it harder to treat.

Melanomas are usually brown, black, or multicolored patches, or nodules with an irregular outline. They may crust or bleed and often form on top of existing moles.

If a mole changes or you have any odd growths on your body, go immediately to the dermatologist or family doctor. Don't hesitate and don't delay.

Image Source: NCI Visuals Online. http://visualsonline.cancer.gov/about.cfm

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