Skin cancer is the most common form of human cancer. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Skin cancer generally develops in the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, so a tumor is usually clearly visible. There are three major types of skin cancer -- basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Basal cell carcinomas and most squamous cell carcinomas are slow growing and highly treatable, especially if found early.

Types of skin cancer

There are three types of skin cancers: basal cell skin cancer, squamous cell skin cancer and the dangerous malignant melanoma. Since skin cancer is very closely associated to skin pigmentation, the fair skinned people are more at risk of developing skin cancer as compared to the dark skinned ones.

Treatment of Skin Cancer

Most skin cancers can be treated by removal of the lesion, making sure that the edges (margins) are free of tumor cells. The excisions provide the best cure for both early and high-risk disease. Radiation therapy and cryotherapy (freezing the cancer off) can provide adequate control of the disease; both, however, have lower overall cure rates than surgery. Moh's Microsurgery is a technique where the cancer is removed with the least amount of surrounding tissue and the edges checked immediately to see if tumor is found. Chemotherapy, drugs are used to kill cancer cells.

Prevention :

Sunscreen is a simple, easy, and convenient artificial defense against skin cancer. It must be applied liberally and reapplied every two to three hours, especially after swimming or physical activity that promotes perspiration, which can weaken even sunscreens labeled as "waterproof. Research indicates that the absorption of three sunscreen ingredients into the skin, combined with a 60-minute exposure to UV.

The symptoms of the cancers are usually not noted earlier. Initially, the cancer grows is the form of precancerous lesions known as dysplasia. This tumor is not a cancer but later on it develops cancerous cells within them. These tumors are actually benign in nature and the treatment of the tumors is also easy. But in case, they are neglected for a long period of time they becomes malignant.

Skin cancers are mostly caused by the unhealthy habits of the people and due to their negligence of the skin. When a person develops skin cancer the infection rapidly spreads to the other areas of the skin and it persistently causes irritation to him. A person who is continuously exposed to ultraviolet radiations or radioactive substances is most likely to develop skin cancer. Hence every individual should take of his skin every now and then. He must not allow himself to get often exposed to harmful rays that can create skin problems.

Warning signs for melanoma include any changes in moles or nevi, especially dysplastic nevi, or moles which are irregularly shaped or colored. Nonmelanoma skin cancer can be more difficult to detect for people who don't know what to look for, as it can present itself as small, relatively harmless-looking lumps, or as sores or rashes that don't seem to heal properly.

Early skin cancer warning signs are often dismissed due to the fact that most people have multiple different types of moles, birthmarks, and freckles. Many contribute these to aging rather than skin cancer. They typically do not follow up with medical consultation early.

Cancer prevention and early detection techniques could eliminate up to 100,000 cancer cases and 60,000 US cancer deaths each year. New technologies in the evaluation and treatment of sun damaged skin could have a positive impact on changing these statistics.

It is thought that fatty diets increase our risk of developing skin cancer. Studies have been done on mice, where scientists have underfed a group of them, exposed them to chemicals which promote skin cancer, and they have found that fewer underfed mice developed the condition compared to the other group of mice who did not have their calorie intake reduced.

The causes of other types of cancers are totally unknown. But the cause of skin cancer can be detected easily. People who are continuously exposed to the harmful radioactive substances or harmful ultraviolet or infrared rays are prone to skin cancer easily. Usually the workers who continuously work in polluted environment damage the quality of their skin within a shorter period of time.





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