Cancer is one of the most feared diseases among the individuals, and people suffering from it are also in fear, but the best way to remove the fear from the cancer disease is by detecting the cancer on the early stage and getting the scope of removal of it from your body.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer. About 5.4 million basal and squamous cell cancers are diagnosed each year. (These are found in about 3.3 million Americans; some people have more than one.) Melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer, will account for about 76,380 cases of skin cancer in 2016
The article explains about Skin cancer and its causes. Skin cancer is a common and locally destructive (malignant or cancerous) growth of the skin. It originate from the cells that line up along the skin membrane that separates the superficial layer of skin from the deeper layers. Unlike cutaneous cancerous melanoma, the vast majority of these sorts of skin cancers have a limited potential to spread to other parts of the body and become life-threatening.
There are commonly three major types of Skin cancer
• Basal cell carcinoma (most common)
• Squamous cell carcinoma
• Melanoma (which originate from the pigment producing skin cells)
Basal cell carcinoma (most common)
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common cancer in humans. Over 1 million new cases of basal cell carcinoma are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. There are several different types of basal cell carcinoma, including the superficial type, the least worrisome variety; the nodular type, the most common; and the morpheaform, the most challenging to treat because the tumors often grow into the surrounding tissue (infiltrate) without a well-defined border.
Squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for about 20% of all it but is more common in immunosuppressed people. In most instances, its biologic behavior is much like basal cell carcinoma with a small but significant chance of distant spread. Less common include melanoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, atypical fibroxanthoma, cutaneous lymphoma, and dermatofibrosarcoma.
Melanoma
The most dangerous form of cancer, these cancerous growths develop when unrepaired DNA damage to skin cells (most often caused by ultraviolet radiation from sunshine or tanning beds) triggers mutations (genetic defects) that lead the skin cells to multiply rapidly and form malignant tumors. These tumors originate in the pigment-producing melanocytes in the basal layer of the epidermis. Melanomas often resemble moles; some develop from moles. The majority of melanomas are black or brown, but they can also be skin-colored, pink, red, purple, blue or white. Melanoma is caused mainly by intense, occasional UV exposure (frequently leading to sunburn), especially in those who are genetically predisposed to the disease. Melanoma kills an estimated 10,130 people in the US annually. If melanoma is recognized and treated early, it is almost always curable, but if it is not, This can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal.
Risk factors for skin cancer include:
• Too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation (from sunlight or tanning beds and lamps)
• Pale skin (easily sunburned, doesn’t tan much or at all, natural red or blond hair)
• Exposure to large amounts of coal tar, paraffin, arsenic compounds, or certain types of oil
• You or members of your family have had skin cancers
• Multiple or unusual moles
• Severe sunburns in the past
• Weakened immune system
• Older age (although melanomas are also found in younger people)
Signs and symptoms of skin cancer
Skin cancer can be found early, and you and your health care providers play key roles in finding skin cancer. Learn how to examine your skin for changes. If you have any of these symptoms, see a provider:
• Any change on your skin, especially in the size or color of a mole, growth, or spot, or a new growth (even if it has no color)
• Scaliness, roughness, oozing, bleeding, or a change in the way an area of skin looks
• A sore that doesn’t heal
• The spread of pigment (color) beyond its border, such as dark coloring that spreads past the edge of a mole or mark
• A change in sensation, such as itchiness, tenderness, or pain
How to prevent?
Many types of cancer can be prevented by avoiding triggers that cause tumors to develop. Prevention strategies include protection from the sun by the use of sunscreens, protective clothing, and avoidance of the sun during the peak hours of 9 AM to 3 PM. Parents should ensure children are protected from the sun. Do not use tanning beds, which are a major cause of excess ultraviolet light exposure and a significant risk factor for skin cancer.
How it is treated?
In choosing the best treatment option, your doctor will consider your age and general health, the type and size of cancer, where it is on your body and what you want. The treatment choice will also depend on whether the skin cancer has spread elsewhere in your body.
Types of treatment include:
• Surgery
• Freezing
• Scraping
• Radiotherapy
• Chemotherapy.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the many countries. The two most common types are basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer. They usually form on the head, face, neck, hands, and arms. Another type of skin cancer, melanoma, is more dangerous but less common.
Anyone can get skin cancer, but it is more common in people who
• Spend a lot of time in the sun or have been sunburned
• Have light-colored skin, hair, and eyes
• Have a family member with skin cancer
• Are over age 50
