Day by day the cases of skin cancers are increasing. Even the most developed countries like U.S. are not able to resolve this problem drastically. Hence care should be taken by every individual to reduce the occurrence of the disease. People with fair complexion should take utmost care of their skin because they are most likely to develop the disease if they neglect it. But the symptoms cannot be easily identified by an individual. even when the skin is in normal conditions, he rarely develops sores or swellings. Hence he may think that the problem is minor but it is actually the onset of cancerous activity. If the skin is treated at an early stage of cancer then it is easily curable. Hence an individual should visit the doctor and get tested and diagnosed as quickly as possible.

Following are the examinations conducted by the doctor for the patient suffering from skin cancer:

a. Physical examination: the problem of skin cancer can be easily understood by the doctor just by conducting minor tests. Skin cancer can be diagnosed easily when compared to the other types of cancers. The doctor may get an idea about the skin disease just by conducting the physical examinations. The doctors get an idea about the unhealthy skin even if he just physically examines your hands. He just examines the state of your skin and asks you some common questions. He may ask you if any of your family members suffered from the disease earlier. He may briefly ask you about your lifestyle, habits and food. Then he may ask you about your work environment to know if you are exposed to harmful radiations in your daily life. If he finds out that you continuously work under conditions where you are exposed to radioactive substances or harmful radiations he examines you even more critically.

b. Biopsy: biopsy is a method of taking out the affected part of the skin and examining it under microscope to know the presence of cancerous cells. It is considered as one of the most effective tests of knowing cancerous. The presence of cancerous cells can be easily noticed under a microscope. These tests are only conducted by the doctors. In case there are any abnormalities in the epidermal layer then it can be easily noticed. Through the biopsy the level of infection of the skin can also be accessed. Through the method of biopsy it is very easier to know if a person is suffering from melanoma or not. After biopsy even further tests are conducted.

c. Chest x-rays: by passing x-rays through the chest the picture about the chest is obtained. In this way the presence of melanoma can be noticed.

d. Blood tests: blood tests are conducts in order to know if the other organs are infected by cancer or not. If the cancerous cells are present then certain enzymes will be noticed. Blood test is usually the final test that is conducted to really confirm if cancerous cells are present or not.



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The aim of treatment is to remove the cancerous cells or tumors that are present into the skin. The operation of cancerous cells of the skin is easier and does not require any incisions or excisions as required for the other surgeries. There are two types of skin treatment i.e. localized treatment. Systematic treatment. The localized treatment is given to those patients for whom the infection has spread only to the localized area and the infection has not spread to the other areas. Systematic treatment is adopted by the doctors when the infection of the skin has spread to the other organs or parts. When the infection is really severe then localized treatments do not work out effectively.

The techniques used for treating skin cancer are:

a. Surgery: surgery is more effective to the disease that is not severe. In other words if the skin cancer has not spread to the other parts then surgery is the effective method. The tumorous or cancerous growth is removed. The lesions or the tumors that are developed are extracted through surgical procedures.

b. Radiotherapy: when the infection is severe and the tumors cannot be operated just by a surgery then the method of radiotherapy is used. Either the radiation generating source is kept outside the person's body or a person is injected. The external radiotherapy works out more effectively for the skin.

c. Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is a systematic type of treatment where the chemical reagents are inserted insider the body and these substances cause some reactions and destroy the cells inside the body.

The localized treatment is useful for treating the BCC and SCC and melanoma requires systematic treatment.

Frequently doctors do not use one single technique, but uses the combination of two techniques. The cancerous cells are effectively destroyed when two or more methods are used. But there are many side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The cancerous cells are affected and so also the normal cells.



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There are many types of skin cancers. The types of cancers depend upon the area affected and the severity of the disease. A skin cancer can damage any part of the body. The symptoms also differ from the type of cancer developed.

The three types of cancers are BCC, SCC and melanoma. The main symptoms of BCC are:

a. on the skin bumps develop in the form of a circle and the bumps are usually in the shape of a pear. If they swell then immediately visit should be made with the doctor. These bumps usually occur in the areas that are often exposed such as face, neck or shoulders.

b. When crusts develop on the lump, they may bleed and cause infection. If such symptoms are noticed they immediately visit the doctor because this bleeding can be the early cause of cancers.

The BCC and SCC develop in the similar form. Following are the symptoms of SCC.

a. the SCC develops in a form of patch in the skin at the initial stage. The size of the patches is usually form and appears on the face like a scale. It of course! Causes a lot of discomfort to the skin. They usually appear on those areas that are exposed to the radiations of sun most of the times.

b. Similarly like BCC they later on began to bleed and develop in the form of an ulcer. Most of the patients who develop it think that he has developed an ordinary swelling but he may not be aware that it may cause a major problem to him. But he must realize that it may lead him to cancer.

If these symptoms are neglected at an early stage then the large of these bumps obviously enlarge. Then these bumps develop cancerous cells within them.

If you develop melanoma then you notice the following symptoms:

a. in the initial stage you develop moles and when the moles develop they become cancerous. You must realize the onset of skin melanoma if you notice large moles in your adulthood or if you are feeling itchy or discomfort due to the presence of mole in the skin.

b. You must be able to identify moles. The moles are usually encircled by some peculiar elements. The color of the mole appears somewhat brown or red. You may notice lesions also.

There are many types of skin cancers as the skin is made up of many layers and each layer consists of many cells. The type of skin cancers depend upon the layer infected and the cells damaged. The skin is made up of three main layers and the three main layers consist of three main types of cells. The outer most layer is known as epidermis and it consists of three cells. The second layer is known as dermis layer and the inner most layer is known as subcutaneous layer. This innermost layer consists of fat and loose cells. When skin cancer is caused the layer that is most affected is the epidermal layer.

1. As you know there are three types of cancers ie. Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC, Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and Melanoma.

Basal cell carcinoma: the basal cells that are found in the epidermis are affected by the cancer. This cancer is mostly caused to people with fair skin. When this cancer develops the basal cells enlarged. This disease is mainly caused to people who are often exposed to sunlight. The cancer becomes malignatnt if not treated for a longer time. The cancerous cells spread due to the development.

SCC: The Squamous cells are the outermost lining cells of the epidermal layer. If these cells are affected they can affected the entire skin or the entire layer of epidermis. It should be treated at the right time or else the cells become malignant. these cells do not have the property of metastazing even if they are left untreated for a longer period but they may just spread to the nearby tissues.

Melanoma: it is the most hazardous type of cancer compared to the other types of cancers. In the lower area of the epidermal layer melanocytes are present. They are responsible for the secretion of pigment known as melanin when it is exposed to sunlight. This disease is so dangerous that it can spread to the inner organs also.

The treatment of skin cancer also depends upon the type of disease he is experiencing. There are many types of skin cancers. If a person is diagnosed with melanoma, then he must undergo very systematic form of treatment. Even the doctors should treat such patients so carefully that the cancer should not spread to the other cells. But a person who is undergo BCC or SCC can be treated with localized treatment.


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