Questions About Cancer

Skin cancer develops primarily in the areas of skin exposed to sunlight, including the scalp, face, lips, ears, neck, chest, arms and hands, and legs in women. But it can also form in areas that rarely see the light of day, like palms of hands, under fingernails, the spaces between the toes or under the toenails, and genital area.
Skin cancer affects people of all skin tones, including those with darker complexions.

Type

Basal cell carcinoma
This is the most common skin cancer. It is also the easiest to treat and less likely to spread. Basal cell carcinoma usually appears as:
• A lump or color pearl wax in the face, ears or neck.
• A flat spot of skin-colored or brown scar on the chest or back

Squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma is easily treated if caught in time, but is a bit more likely to spread to the basal cell carcinoma.

Appears as:
• A small red nodule on the face, lips, ears, neck, hands or arms.
• A flat spot or a squamous intraepithelial lesion, crusty on the surface of the face, ears, neck, hands or arms.
Melanoma
This is the most serious form of skin cancer and is responsible for most skin cancer deaths.
Warning signs of melanoma include:
• A site with large dark brown speckles located anywhere on your body
• A simple lunar located in any part of your body that changes color, size or feel or that bleeds.
• A small lesion with an irregular edge
Risk Factors
• Excessive exposure to sunlight. Tanning is the response of the skin lesion to excessive UV radiation.
• Moles. People with many moles or abnormal moles called dysplastic nevi “have a higher risk of skin cancer.
• A family history of skin cancer.
• Personal history of skin cancer. If once developed skin cancer, are at risk of developing it again.
• A weakened immune system. People with weakened immune systems are at greater risk of developing skin cancer. This includes people living with HIV / AIDS or leukemia and those taking immunosuppressant drugs following organ transplantation.
• Exposure to environmental risks. Exposure to environmental chemicals, including some herbicides, increases your risk of skin cancer.
• Age. The risk of developing skin cancer increases with age.
Treatment

Sometimes no treatment is required beyond an initial biopsy that removes all the growth.
If you need additional treatment options may include:

• Freezing: It destroys skin cancers in early stages by freezing with liquid nitrogen (cryosurgery).
• Surgical excision: After the skin is rebuilt.
• Laser therapy:
• Electrocoagulation: After surgery an electric needle destroys any remaining cancer cells.
• Radiation therapy: Radiation may be used to destroy basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas if surgery is not an option.
• Chemotherapy: In chemotherapy, drugs are used to kill cancer cells. For cancers limited to the upper layer of the skin, creams chemotherapy. Systemic chemotherapy can be used to treat skin cancers that have spread to other parts of the body.