What is Skin Cancer?
Skin cancer is the abnormal growth of skin cells that most often develops on skin exposed to the sun. This cancer can also occur in areas of your skin not ordinarily exposed to sunlight.
What are the significant types of Skin Cancer?
However, there are several different types of skin cancer:-
- Basal cell carcinoma: However, it is the most common human cancer. Each year in the U.S., over 1 million new cases of basal cell carcinoma are diagnosed. There are many different types of basal cell carcinoma, such as the superficial type, the least problematic variety; the nodular type, the most common; and the morphea form, the most challenging to treat because the tumors often grow into the surrounding tissue (infiltrate) without a well-defined border.
- Squamous cell carcinoma: However, it accounts for about 20% of all skin cancers but is more familiar in immunosuppressed people. In most examples, its biological nature is much like basal cell carcinoma with a small but significant chance of far spread.
- However, the less common skin cancer may include melanoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, atypical fibroxanthoma, cutaneous lymphoma, and Dermato fibrosarcoma.
What are the risk factors for Skin Cancer?
The most familiar risk factors of skin cancer are as follows:-
- Ultraviolet light exposure, either from the sun or from flogging beds. Fair-skinned individuals with blue eyes and people with blond or red hair are generally susceptible. The problem is aggravated in high elevation or near the equator areas where sunlight exposure is more intense.
- A chronically suppressed immune system from fundamental diseases like HIV/AIDS infection, cancer, or some medications like prednisone or chemotherapy.
- Sensitive to ionizing radiation or chemical substances are known to predispose to cancer like arsenic.
- People with a history of one skin cancer have a 20 percent chance of improving second skin cancer in the next two years.
- Elderly long-suffering people have more skin cancers.
What causes skin cancer?
Except in rare examples, many skin cancer problems may arise from DNA mutations induced by ultraviolet light affecting cells of the epidermis. Most of these early cancers seem to be disciplined by natural immune surveillance.
What are the signs and symptoms of skin cancer?
Many basal cell carcinomas have few if any symptoms. And squamous cell carcinomas may be found to be painful. However, both forms of skin carcinoma may be in sight as a sore that bleeds, oozes, crusts, or otherwise will not heal. Both types of skin carcinomas may have raised edges and central ulceration.
Possible signs and symptoms of basal cell carcinomas may include:-
- Presence of a shiny pink, red, pearly, or translucent bump
- Growth of pink skin or lesions with borders that are piecrust in the center
- An elevated reddish patch of skin that may crust or itch but is usually not painful
- A white, yellow, or waxy area with a poorly described border that may resemble a scar
Possible signs and symptoms of squamous cell carcinomas may include:-
- Persistent, scaly red spots with irregular edges that may weep easily
- Open aching that does not go distant for weeks
- An elevated growth with a rough surface that is depressed in the middle
- A wart-like growth
How do physicians diagnose skin cancer?
A skin check-up by a dermatologist is the way to get a definitive diagnosis of skin cancer. In most cases, the presence alone is sufficient to make the diagnosis. Usually, a skin biopsy is taken to confirm a suspicion of skin cancer. However, this may be performed by numbing the area under the tumor with a local anesthetic like lidocaine. A small part of the tumor is sliced away and sent for examination by a pathologist, who looks at the tissue under a microscope and renders a diagnosis based on the characteristics of the tumor.
