All About Skin Cancer

When it comes to cases of skin cancer, the Long Beach dermatologist is part of the treatment team that includes the oncologist, the radiologist, the chemotherapists and others. Skin cancer, or melanoma, is a potentially serious disease that is extremely aggressive and metastasizes quickly. If you are at risk, you should have one of your local Long Beach skin doctors examine you frequently, because like most forms of cancer, the various Long Beach skin cancer treatment options are most effective when the disease is caught in the earliest stage.

What Causes Skin Cancer?

Although this disease can happen to anyone, there are certain risk factors that make a person more predisposed to the disease. These include:

excessive exposure to sun (natural or artificial) fair skin (people of Nordic ancestry are particularly at risk) scars or burns radiation treatments arsenic exposure taking immunosuppressive drugs chronic skin inflammation or ulcers

People with a condition known as actinic keratosis, which is marked by thick, scaly and/or crusty patches of skin. This condition is not malignant by itself but can be a precursor to the disease.

What Are The Symptoms?

Signs of skin cancer may manifest themselves as any or all of the following:

small, raised, smooth and shiny patches of skin that have a waxy texture small, raised, red or brown marks unusual scaling or bleeding sores that refuse to heal

These signs do not necessarily mean that you have a melanoma; however, you should not take any chances. There are many Long Beach skin doctors who have experience in this area, and they can tell you whether or not your condition is malignant.

How Is Skin Cancer Diagnosed?

If there is a patch of skin that looks suspicious, the Long Beach dermatologist will need a sample, known as a biopsy. A small piece of the area is cut away and sent to a pathologist who will examine the sample under a microscope to determine whether or not cancer is present. Fortunately, melanoma is one of the easier forms of cancer to detect.

What are the Treatment Options?

If caught in the earliest stage, skin cancer is actually one of the easiest to treat – the offending tissue is simply cut away. This may not be the end of it though because there is always a chance that the cancer will recur; patients usually require ongoing monitoring to make sure that a few outlaw cells have not spread to other parts of the body.

If there is metastasis, chemotherapy and radiation treatments may be required. Long Beach skin doctors can educate you of what to expect and refer you to an oncologist for further treatment.

Yes, even your lips need protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation and there are now products specifically developed to protect lips from sunburn and subsequently cancer. Medicated lip balms like Blistex, Dermatone, Kiehl’s and many others on the market are designed not only to provide moisture protection from the elements but also from the sun’s UV rays. Research has shown that UV radiation bounces off concrete, goes through water and even clouds and regular clothing, so protection is needed and recommended whenever you go out doors. Lip Skin cancer has grown steadily during the past years as well as other forms of skin cancers due to the huge increase of outdoor activities people go through.

The experience of sunburn can be a very efficient (i.e. painful) reminder to heed adequate protection on future occasions. However more importantly, it should be a reminder of the long-term effects of sun exposure on our bodies and health – which can include aging of the skin and skin cancer.

In order to more fully understand these consequences, let’s take a look at exactly what sunburn is, its symptoms and its effect on the body.

Sunburn results when the amount of exposure to the sun, or other ultraviolet light source (e.g. tanning lamps and welding arcs etc.), exceeds the ability of the body’s protective pigment, melanin, to protect the skin. Melanin content varies greatly, but in general darker skinned people have more melanin than lighter skinned. (Although fairer skinned people are generally more prone to getting sunburn than darker skinned people, this certainly does not exclude the latter from risk.)

Sunburn destroys cells in the outer layer of the skin, damaging tiny blood vessels underneath. Burns deeper into the skin’s layers also damage elastic fibers in the skin, which over time and with repeated sun overexposure, can result in the appearance of yellowish, wrinkled skin.

The damage to skin cells from UV exposure (either sunlight or tanning lamps etc.) can also include damage to their DNA. It’s this repeated DNA damage, which can lead to a cell becoming cancerous. With the incidence of skin cancer rising dangerously in many parts of the world, and with its ability to develop and establish itself in the body ‘long’ before external signs are detected, — paying attention to this aspect of sun exposure and sunburn should certainly not be ignored if we are serious about preserving our health.

Now while it may be easier to ignore the effects of sunburn occurring at a cellular level, ignoring the external symptoms of sunburn in the days immediately following such exposure is entirely another matter.

While sunburn is usually not immediately obvious, skin discoloration (ranging from slightly pink to severely red or even purplish) will initially appear from 1 – 24 hours after exposure. Although pain is usually worst 6 – 48 hours afterward, the burn can continue to develop for 24 – 72 hours after the incident. Where there is skin peeling, this generally occurs 3 – 8 days after the burn occurs.

While minor sunburns typically cause nothing more than warm/hot skin, slight redness, and tenderness to the affected area, — in more serious cases, extreme redness, swelling and blistering can occur. These blisters filled with fluid may itch and eventually break. This can then cause peeling of the skin, exposing an even tenderer layer of skin underneath.

Severe sunburn can cause very red, blistered skin but can also be accompanied by fever, chills, nausea (in some cases vomiting), and dehydration. In instances of extreme sunburn where the pain is debilitating, medical treatment may be required.

While the immediate effects of sunburn can certainly be painful and cause discomfort, the real deterrent to UV overexposure should be the potential damage to your long-term health – including the risk of premature aging of the skin along with skin cancer.

Don’t let sunburn and sun overexposure kill your chances of enjoying youthful skin, and a healthy body. Remember, the easiest way to treat sunburn will always be to avoid it in the first place!

The bad news is that there are more diagnosed cases of skin cancer every year than any other kind of cancer. The good news is that there are very, very few deaths attributed to this disease.

Skin cancer is the most treatable of all types, and the results of treatment are almost always positive. This year, there are expected to be a million new cases of skin cancer diagnosed, but only 1,000 deaths are expected that are caused by the disease. So you can see that even if you are diagnosed with skin cancer, your odds are 1,000 to 1 that you will beat the disease. Those are terrific odds!

There are several different kinds of skin cancer. The one that forms in the cells that make pigment is called melanoma. Skin cancer that forms in the small, round cells in the base of the outer layer of skin is called basal cell carcinoma. The type that forms in the flat cells that form the surface of the skin is called squamous cell carcinoma. Skin cancer that forms in the cells that release hormones in response to signals from the nervous system is called neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin.

Most cases occur in older people, and generally on parts of the body that are exposed to the sun or in people who have weakened immune systems. Those with very fair skin are most prone to developing the disease.

Many risk factors are associated with the development of skin cancer, but the number one risk factor is unprotected exposure to the sun’s rays. Simple preventive measures like wearing sunscreen, avoiding being directly in the sun between 10 AM and 2 PM, wearing a hat, sunglasses, and protective clothing (long sleeves and long pants) could prevent many cases of skin cancer.

The National Cancer Institute provides many resources to people who suffer from the many types of cancer. Skin Cancer is one of them for it is considered to be the most prevalent cancer in the United States and anywhere else around the world. There are signs to look out for in the hopes of preventing the disease form spreading and getting to an untreatable stage which can be fatal in some cases. In the US alone, there are an estimated 60,000 new cases of skin cancer in 2007 alone and from those, less than 9,000 would be fatal.

The risk factors used to indicate the susceptibility of an individual to the said disease are as follows; unusual moles, prolonged exposure to sunlight, UV light exposure ( tanning booths), History in the family, age is more than 20 years, white skin color, red or blonde hair, freckles and blue eyes. They are some of the signs that are used to gauge the risk factor in people but are not sure signs of the disease. For more information contact the National Cancer Institute or your nearest Health center for details on diagnosis and treatment help.

Like all parts of the body, the skin ages and looses some of it�s endearing properties as we grow older. But with proper care and maintenance, your skin can stay healthy and glowing even through old age by using products that help fight the effects of the sun�s damaging rays. Tanning is a practice that has one lying down on a bed while a bank of UV lamps give you the so looked after tanned-look. This is more prevalent in Western Nations where their white or fair skin is given regular tanning treatments to give it a more sun-baked glow. New legislation that has these machines, have mandatory labels stating the risks of using the said device. Called the Tanning Accountability and Notification Act (TAN Act) passed by the USFDA makes it mandatory for additional labels to be placed in such devices.

So cutting to the chase, these devices are safe if used responsibly and consultation with a skin doctor might be a good idea if you are unsure when using any cosmetic device.

Cryosurgery is the treatment used to remove small cancerous growth from the skin. Liquid Nitrogen, which is one of the coldest substances on earth at a stable temperature of -196 Degrees Celsius is applied to the growth, in effect freezing the cells leaving a lump of frozen tissue that simply falls off as the surrounding area warms up. Liquid Nitrogen is a cryogenic liquid meaning it has the ability to kill/freeze all forms of living tissue resulting in severe frostbite upon contact. Get a rubber ball and immerse it in the stuff and it becomes as fragile as a light bulb shattering into a million pieces. This form of treatment is recommended for smaller skin melanomas due to the danger of treating large areas that can damage more than the afflicted tissue.

Moles are a sure sign of skin melanoma if they appear after the age of 20. Many Dermatologists recommend a screening procedure be done on a monthly basis is it does develop after the specified age. If the mole undergoes change rapidly or is exhibiting one of the following symptoms, then immediate medical exams are necessary to ascertain the cause or possible extent of skin melanoma. If the mole in question is oozing, bleeding, itchy, scaly, tender or painful, have it checked by a dermatologist for a possible skin biopsy just to be sure. If the biopsy shows that it is indeed cancerous, then it should also show the extent (depth) of spread that has happened allowing proper care and treatment.

Everybody has heard of the Genome project, the DNA mapping project that aims to map out the entire human DNA sequence and define/identify all the parts they play in our daily lives. It turns out that there is a specific gene that handles the skin’s response to the Sun’s Ultraviolet rays triggering the tanning process and researchers are thrilled of the prospect of using that gene in preventive/treatment products for commercial use. The said gene triggers the tanning process instead of the usual cancerous effects thus preventing cells from mutating into the beginnings of cancer. The said gene is also attributed to be the primary reason why we humans are attracted to the sun even after all the detrimental effects overexposure have been made apparent. For more information check out the article on Science Daily.com, the premiere source of news regarding the field of research.