Information on Skin Cancer

Information on skin cancer is important because skin cancer can happen to anyone. People who are fair skinned with a lot of freckles are more prone to sunburn. Therefore, they are more prone to skin cancer.

Skin cancer types that are not malignant melanoma are very common. More than 3,500,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer were diagnosed in 2009. About 2,500 people died. This is a high rate of skin cancer for a population living so far from the equator.

Skin cancer is more common than any other cancer. It is more common than all cases of breast, prostate, colon and lung cancer together. You have a one in five chance of having skin cancer in your lifetime.

At this web site is a slide show to illustrate the different types of skin cancer.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/melanoma/DS00575

Skin Cancer Types

Basal cell cancer is the most common type of skin cancer. About 2.8 million of these are diagnosed each year. If they grow, they can disfigure the skin. The most common place they grow is on the face and neck.

To treat basal cell cancer, the skin cancer surgeon cuts out the cancer and takes a margin of healthy tissue around it. This cures the skin cancer but you have to keep an eye out for more.

The second most common type of skin cancer is squamous cell skin cancer. About 700,000 cases are diagnosed every year. It is one of the skin cancer types that rarely travel to other body areas. If squamous cell skin cancer is caught early, it will not usually metastasize or spread to other body parts.

The cost of treating non-melanoma skin cancers is about $1 billion each year. This is for biopsies and for the skin cancer surgeon to remove the cancers. Only rarely is radiation or chemotherapy needed.

At least 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers are due to sun exposure. Aging of the skin contributes to the sun damage. Sun damage and previous sunburns cause the various skin cancer types.

The Scourge of Malignant Melanoma

Malignant melanoma is the third most common type of skin cancer. It represents about five percent of all skin cancer types. It makes up most of the skin cancer deaths, however. Malignant melanoma accounts for 79 percent of all cancer deaths. The melanoma survival rates are poor when it is found at an advanced stage.

Those that get malignant melanoma are mostly men and mostly over age 50. It is the sixth most common cancer in men and the seventh most common cancer in women. There are about 54,000 cases each year. There are about 7,400 deaths each year.

Malignant melanoma is staged according to the depth of the tumor and the lymph nodes involved. Stage IV melanoma involves cancer in other body areas. The melanoma survival rates drop to nearly 15 percent after five years if the cancer is in stage IV at the time of diagnosis.

The good news is that you have nearly a 100 percent chance of surviving malignant melanoma if you catch it in the first stage. This is why it is important to have information on skin cancer. Check your moles regularly (every month) in order to know if any are changing.

If you find changing moles

A dermatologist should check moles that become disorganized in color or shape. The surgeon will take a biopsy of the mole and tell you if it is malignant melanoma. If it is, doctors will remove the entire cancerous area and a wide margin of tissue along with it.

Lymph nodes will be sampled for cancer and, if positive, will be removed. The lungs, the bone, the brain and the colon are all checked for malignant melanoma, if it is suspected that the tumor has spread. If no tumor has spread to other body areas, the melanoma survival rates are 45 to 74 percent.

Melanoma is deadly. The more information on skin cancer you have, the safer you are. If you are pale and burn easily, you can get malignant melanoma. Do monthly self-checks as mentioned and have your doctor check at least once a year.

Conclusion

Wear sunscreen or sun block whenever you are out in the sun. Do not use indoor tanning beds because they release UV radiation that can cause severe burns. If you are young, cover up when you are in the sun. Frequent sunburns in your youth seem to be the cause of most skin cancer.

Even if you are older, avoid getting sunburned and have your doctor remove any actinic keratoses you get. It is a simple office procedure that can keep you from getting squamous cell skin cancer.

Written by: Dr. Christine Traxler
Edited by: Margaret Stenerson
July 13, 2010