Skin Cancer Resource
Helping you find a cure
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The history of skin cancer covers a long time. While we keep finding new ways of detecting and treating it, skin cancer has been around forever. This disease shows up in some of the oldest medical records we have.
Ancient Egyptian papyrus writings contain descriptions of cancer that are as much as four thousand years old. Medications and magical treatments were prescribed for people with tumors.
The Egyptians were able to tell the difference between harmless (benign) tumors and harmful (malignant) ones. They didn't think they could cure it. Instead, they believed that destroying the affected area would help:
Many early cultures believed skin cancer was a punishment from the gods. It wasn't until the Greek era that doctors started looking at cancers and trying to find out where they came from.
Their theory involved an imbalance in the four "humors" of the body. They thought this imbalance needed correction to get rid of the tumor. We now know this theory to be wrong but it was accepted for over a thousand years.
Other theories developed about skin cancer in ancient history. Some of them were truer than others. Medical experimenters in 16th century Italy thought that the lymphatic system was responsible for cancer. Now we know the lymphatic system is an important part of the immune system and that some types of cancer can spread through this system.
Other doctors believed that cancer came from groups of cells called blastema. This was proven wrong, but the idea that cancers develop from cells was not wrong. A theory that cancer is caused by chronic irritation was also proven wrong. While many skin cancers cause irritation, they are not caused by it. Cancer was also blamed on parasites.
Technological advances meant that the history of skin cancer became more interesting in the nineteenth and twentieth century. A whole new branch of science called oncology developed. This science focuses on what causes cancer and how to treat it.
We have identified the 3 types of skin cancers and know what to do for each of them:
We're a lot better at finding cancers early, too. Early detection is doing a lot more to help us keep these cancers from becoming serious.
Every year, more than a million people in the US are diagnosed with the two most common kinds of skin cancer. The more serious type is called melanoma, and it is not as common as the other two. However, about sixty thousand people get it every year.
We're making advances every day, even now. Up to seventy percent of melanoma cancers might be related to a gene mutation. This mutation causes cells to develop into tumors after too much sun exposure. This discovery could help us prevent this kind of deadly skin cancer. It could also lead to better treatments for it.
As our technology keeps improving, we understand a lot more about how our bodies work. Eventually, we might learn to cure skin cancer completely.
Of course, the best thing you can do is to prevent yourself from getting skin cancer in the first place. We need to be careful because most cancers occur due to exposure to the sun. Your chances improve if you make sure that you don't get too much sun. Wear covering clothing when you go in the sun and use appropriate sunblock cream. Also avoid getting a sunburn. Damaged cells are much more likely to become cancerous.
Make sure you talk to your doctor if you see anything strange. Catching skin cancer early is the most important thing anyone can do to treat it. The larger and deeper the tumor is, the harder it is to treat.
Removal of small tumors is easy. You'll stay healthier if you take the time to pay attention and protect yourself.
"This website is for all skin cancer patients, their families and friends. I want people to know that they can overcome this disease by learning what to do, where to go for great medical help, how to deal with insurance and all the other problems facing them.
I have worked with some great people to make this web site easy to understand and devoted to helping you. Please let me know if anything doesn't help you or if we can do something more that would be useful to you.
The most important factor in a person getting healthy is their personal determination and their will to be better. You have to summon that determination and then take the steps described here - we are here to help and support you."
HERE ARE SOME LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES YOU MAY FIND INTERESTING: