Added: 01/08/2006 |
Skin cancer symptoms: early detection kills the disease.Some cancers are more common in aging skin. The underlying cause of skin cancer in older people is often the accumulated damage of many years of excessive exposure to the sun. In some cases there may be a genetic predisposition to skin cancer - either "cancer in the family" or the inheritance of a type of skin that increases risk for skin cancer. All skin cancers can be successfully treated if skin cancer symptoms are discovered and the illness is treated early. All are potentially disfiguring, and potentially fatal if they metastasize (spread) to other parts of the body.
The three most common types of skin cancer are: Basal cell carcinoma, Squamous cell carcinoma, Melanoma.
Basal cell carcinoma arises in a layer of skin (basal layer) beneath the skin's surface. If left untreated, it may become large and disfiguring.
The major risk factors for developing basal cell carcinoma are: excessive and chronic sun exposure over many years, fair (white) skin complexion, especially when hair is blond or red.
While basal cell carcinoma has traditionally been a cancer associated with older people, it is now seen in more young adults than in the past.
Early detection of basal cell carcinoma can lead to early treatment and prevention of disfigurement. The most likely places for basal cell carcinoma to develop are areas exposed to sun - face, scalp, ears, neck, shoulders and back. Criteria to look for during self-examination are the following skin cancer symptomps. A small, pearly nodule, which may or may not have telangiectasia (small enlarged blood vessels) on the surface; the nodule increases in size slowly and may form an ulceration in its center; there may be some pigmentation. A solitary, flat or slightly depressed lesion that is hard to the touch; it may be yellowish or whitish and have indistinct borders. Then, one or more reddish, scaling plaques that slowly enlarge; these lesions may resemble dermatitis or psoriasis.
Any suspicious skin cancer symptoms, such as lesion should be examined immediately by a dermatologist and biopsied if the dermatologist deems it necessary to determine proper treatment.
Squamous cell carcinoma develops in the outer layers of the skin. It is capable of metastasizing to other areas of the body if not treated early. It also spreads locally and may cause significant disfigurement.
As to the skin cancer symptoms for this type, it commonly appears as an ulcerated nodule or superficial erosion with poorly defined margins on the skin or lower lip; the lesion persists and does not heal; a wart-like growth or plaque; premalignant forms of squamous cell carcinoma include actinic keratosis, cutaneous horns (hard, fibrous growths), and Bowen's disease (scaling, inflamed-looking plaques).
As with basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, excessive and chronic sun exposure is a major risk factor for melanoma. There also is a tendency for melanoma to "run in the family", and to be associated with a familial trait of having many moles on the body. Melanoma often arises in a pre-existing mole or pigmented lesion. Early detection of skin cancer symptoms is essential in this case. Any person with many moles or a family history of melanoma should be examined regularly by a dermatologist.
The point is that today some foremost medical trends consider sunlight as a source of cancer healing, so is it reasonable to hide from the Sun in this case?
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