Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer disease which is found in all races around the world. It has badly affected the lives of millions of people around the world.
The skin is called as the body’s largest organ which protects human beings from heat, injury, sunlight and infection. It also helps in controlling the body temperature and stores fat, water and vitamin D for vital activities of the body. The skin has mainly two layers, the epidermis (upper layer) and the dermis (lower layer). Skin cancer starts to grow in the epidermis which is made up of three kinds of cells basal cells, squamous cells and melanocytes. According to the types of cells, skin cancer has divided into three types which are Basal Cells Carcinoma, Squamous Cells Carcinoma and Melanoma. Basal cell carcinoma and Squamous cell carcinoma are the most common types of skin sarcomas which rarely spread to other parts of the body.
Who gets skin cancer?
People of all races and colors can get skin cancer. People with light skin who sunburn easily are prone to developing this disease easily. Several risk factors that cause skin melanoma are sunburns, , exposure to x-rays, family history of skin cancer, weak immune system, scarring caused by a disease and exposure to cancer-causing elements such as arsenic and chemical substances. People who use sun lamps also increase the chance to get skin melanoma.
Skin cancer treatment
There are many effective and successful treatments are available for skin cancer-the treatment depending upon the grade, stage and type of the skin tumor. The treatment also depends upon the age and general health condition of a patient. Some of the most effective treatments have been described as below:
Surgery
This is an effective and an important healing procedure for skin cancer in which tumor is completely cut out of the skin. Sometimes surrounding healthy cell areas are also removed with the tumor if the tumor is attached to the vital cells. It is administered in a variety of ways.
Cryotherapy
It is an effective Skin cancer treatment in which cancerous cells are cooled to a very low temperature and then melanoma cells are destroyed by liquid nitrogen. This method is a very fast way of treating small and low-risk skin melanomas, for instance superficial basal cell carcinomas.
Radiotherapy
This healing technique is a very effective for basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinomas. Radiotherapy is given after surgery or before surgery if the patient has a higher risk of skin cancer that cancerous cells may persist for a long time. This is also used for the tumors that have grown into the deeper layers of the skin.
Photodynamic therapy
Photodynamic therapy uses light sources to kill the tumor; it is usually combined with light-sensitive drugs which are also called as photosensitizing agent. This agent helps to destroy the cancerous cells.
Summary
In recent years, some of the latest techniques have also been discovered for Skin cancer treatment such as Topical chemotherapy and Topical immunotherapy. In Topical immunotherapy, a cream called imiquimod can be used to treat some squamous cell carcinomas and basal cell carcinomas.
David Acer is an expert commentator, allied with health related services for many years. His valuable insights and deep understating for health care services have helped people in a number of ways. His research based article on Skin Cancer Treatment is worth to reading. For more information, visit sfrollc.com