Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer. If the cancer is detected in its early stage and treated, most of the variants of the disease are curable. But some cancers have the property of metastasis, i.e. the ability to infect other tissues of the body and invade even the healthy organs. These malignant tumours are not easy to control.
The three most common types of skin cancer are Melanoma, Basal Cell Carcinoma, and Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Among these, Melanoma is present in only 1% of the total population, but it is highly lethal. According to an estimate made by the American Cancer Society, around 96,480 people will be diagnosed with Melanoma in 2019, and there would be an expected 7,230 casualties.
Symptoms of skin cancer
The parts of the body which remain exposed to ultraviolet rays like face, arms, chest, and hands are most prone to skin cancer. Most of the skin cancer first appears as an unknown mole, spot, or freckles. Actinic keratosis appears as a crusty or scaly lesion. The lesion can be so small that it would not be visible to the naked eye. They can also appear like a raised rough part on skin. They may have a red, pink, or tan coloured hue.
Basal cell carcinoma can sometimes appear as a sore, which doesn’t cure on its own within 7-10 days. It can appear as a red patch on the skin or as a shiny bump, which causes severe itching. It may hurt and bleed as well in severe conditions.
Squamous cell carcinoma appears as a red, scaly patch that may bleed. It is a very painful growth on the skin.
Melanoma can be described by using the acronym ABCDE. A for asymmetrical, the mole would appear asymmetrical if divided into two halves. B for the border, the mole’s edges would be poorly defined. C for change in colour, the mole’s colour would change from red, brown to tan, and eventually, black or blue. D for diameter, the mole has a diameter greater than 6mm. E for evolving, new moles will emerge.
Diagnosis of skin cancer
Skin cancer can be diagnosed early on if the patient takes these changes seriously and consults a physician or a dermatologist, the disease can be cured very soon. We recommend you only consult trusted professionals for early detection and treatment of the disease. To know more about their offering, check out their website!
For the diagnosis of skin cancer, the physician would inspect your skin and look for abnormal body changes. For the diagnosis, a sample of tissue is sliced and used for biopsy. The biopsy helps in confirming if it is cancer or not. Furthermore, it helps in determining the type of skin cancer it is, and to what extent the changes have occurred and whether cancer will invade other body tissues or not. More tests, like imaging tests, can be done to check whether nearby lymph nodes have been infected or not. These investigations can easily diagnose cancer and its stage.
Treatment of skin cancer
Treatment of skin cancer depends upon the stage, extent, size, depth, and location of cancer. For instance, if the cancer is limited to only surfaced skin, it can be excised and removed.
Freezing-
The freezing technique could be used to destroy small cancerous cells. For the same purpose, liquid nitrogen finds a major utility here. Dead tissues automatically slough off, when exposed to the freezing gas.
Excisional surgery-
Most commonly used skin cancer treatment! In this procedure, the physician cuts, and excises the cancer tissue along with its surrounding healthy tissues, just to be on the safer side.
Mohs surgery-
It is commonly used in squamous and basal cell carcinoma cases. It is commonly used where normal skin is needed to be conserved. In this, the physician checks each layer of skin before going in deeper for the next layer and removes extra growth that has been affecting each layer. This treatment is helpful as it allows only cancerous tissues to be removed, preserving normal healthy skin.
Chemotherapy-
It allows the killing of cancer cells with the help of drugs. The patient’s cancer affected regions are targeted by high radiation rays. This procedure kills off the cancer cells effectively but also harms the healthy cells surrounding the area.
