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

Basal Cell Carcinoma Photo:
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


Squamous Cell Carcinoma Photo:
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


Melanoma Photo:
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.