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Skin cancer introduction
Excessive exposure to sunlight is the main cause of skin cancer. The term "skin cancer" refers to three different conditions mainly., they are: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.Avoiding sun exposure in susceptible individuals is the best way to lower the risk for all types of skin cancer. People who have already had any form of skin cancer should have regular medical checkups.
Symptoms of skin cancer
Light-colored skin, sun exposure, and age are all important factors in the development of skin cancer. About 20% of these skin cancers, however, occur in areas that are not sun-exposed, such as the chest, back, arms, legs, and scalp.
3 Main types of skin cancer:
- Basal cell carcinoma
Light-colored skin, sun exposure, and age are all important factors in the development of basal cell carcinomas.
- Dome-shaped bump, the texture of such a spot is often shiny and translucent, sometimes referred to as "pearly."
- Some basal cell carcinomas contain melanin pigment, making them look dark rather than shiny.
- Squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous cells are found in the tissue that forms the surface of the skin, the lining of the hollow organs of the body, and the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts. Thus, squamous cell carcinomas can actually arise in any of these tissues.
- Red bumps
- Keratoacanthoma
- Melanoma
Most melanomas occur on the skin where they can be seen, patients themselves are often the first to detect many melanomas.
- Asymmetry: One half of the mole is different from the other half.
- Border irregularity: The spot has borders which are not smooth and regular but uneven or notched.
- Color: The spot has several colors in an irregular pattern or is a very different color than the rest of your moles.
- Diameter: The spot is larger than the size of a pencil eraser.
On the other hand, abnormal skin cancer including:
- Kaposis sarcoma is a condition that affects the tissues under the skin or the mucous membranes that are found in the nose, mouth or anus. The disease, which can be cancer or malignant, affects primarily older men that have had organ transplants.
- Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) primarily occurs on highly sun-exposed skin such as the head/neck and arms, but it can occur anywhere on the body, including sun-protected areas such as the buttock.
- Sebaceous carcinoma (SC) is a rare type of skin cancer. It only develops on skin that has sebaceous glands. These glands, which help keep our skin moist, are found throughout the body. They are most plentiful around the eyes. About 75% of SCs develop on an eyelid.
Risk factors of skin cancer
- Fair skin, especially when the person has blond or red hair and blue, green, or gray eyes
- Had several sunburns or experienced severe, especially blistering, sunburns
- History of exposure to UV rays from the sun, tanning beds, or sun lamps - whether intermittent or year round, even if the exposure was years ago
- Live in a geographic region receiving high-intensity sunlight
- One or more atypical mole or 50-plus moles
- Diagnosed with actinic keratoses
- Close blood relative has/had melanoma, several more-distant relatives have a history of melanoma, or a family history of other skin cancers
- Personal history of skin cancer
- Weakened immune system caused by a disease, such as lymphoma or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- Most skin cancers appear after age 50, but the sun's damaging effects begin at an early age. Therefore, protection should start in childhood in order to prevent skin cancer later in life
Reference Links：
http://www.medicinenet.com/skin_cancer/article.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_4441133_spot-symptoms-kaposis-sarcoma.html
http://www.merkelcell.org/faqs/index.php#aboutDisease_01
http://www.skincarephysicians.com/skincancernet/whatis_sebaceous_carcinoma.html
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/skin/Patient/page3
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