If you spend time in the sun it’s wise to check your body occasionally for signs of skin cancer. This is the number one cancer affecting millions of people each year. A at home self check is easy to do and early detection is the best way to prevent this cancer from spreading. You’ll learn a few different methods to do this as you keep reading.
What To Look For
The cancerous cells most commonly found on the neck, head, arms, hands and face are called Basal and squamous cell cancers.
Basal Cells - these cells have two distinctions, one can look flat and firm with small pale areas and the other can be raised. They have a pinkish red color, a bit shiny and may tend to bleed. They also may have blood vessels that look abnormal, such as discoloration with blue, brown or black areas. You might also find enlarged basal cells with unusual crusted areas.
Squamous Cells - these cells are more distinguished by looking like growing lumps. These too have 2 appearances, one can be rough, scaly or crusted or they may look reddish and flat.
Commonly these cells start as flat blemishes that don’t look abnormal until you do a self exam and notice the changes. That’s the whole point to these self exams, knowing your body.
Over time your skin will have imperfections for various reasons and most times there is never any change, but skin cancer cells can change slowly. They can also spread and become a serious problem if you don’t do a periodical self exam.
What Kind Of Skin Cancers Can It Treat?
Actinic keratosis:
This cream was initially developed to treat genital warts. It was then approved for the treatment of actinic keratosis. These are red scaly precancerous spots usually in fair skinned people who have had a great deal of sun exposure over many years.
Basal cell cancer:
There are many subtypes of basal cell cancers. This cream has gained approval for the superficial type only as the atypical cells are close to the surface where the cream can readily penetrate. It is an exciting time when new ways of treatments are developed to challenge the conventional methods. With time and experience, such treatments might become commonplace, not just to treat skin cancers but perhaps to be applied to sun damaged skin in order to attempt to prevent new cancers.
Possible future indications:
Melanomas are the most serious types of skin cancers. The vast majority of these lesions are pigmented, only a small percentage are without a dark pigmentation. About of these develop from preexisting moles and the others arise from normal, but usually sun damaged skin. Since the skin is visible, great efforts have been made to teach patients, the public, and all types of health professionals the features of melanomas. Melanomas that are treated early can be cured, so rapid diagnosis is best.
The New Evaluation:
The features of a lesion described as a typical and that should raise your suspicions are categorized as one of ABCD:
A Asymmetrical the shape is uneven
B Border the border is irregular
C Colour the colour is dark brown or black
D Diameter it should have a diameter of 0.6cm.
There is a now an additional letter has been added:
E Evolving the lesion is evolving or changing
The more complete the description the better, but we have to guard against making it too complicated. Another way of looking at these lesions could be:
A Atypical, out of step with other moles
B Black
C Colour variation within the lesion/changing mole
D Dark brown
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