Skin Cancer: Causes, Prevention and Treatment

Skin cancer is known as Melanoma and is a very well known type of cancer. It is the forth most commonly diagnosed form of cancer which affects many men and women in a quite young age. In most cases the skin cancer is curable but if you have taken time in diagnosing it then it might take the life also.

Skin cancer is not just one type, it has few types which are known as Basal Cell Carcinoma, Squamous carcinoma, Cutaneous Melanoma, malignancy of pigment producing cells and Malignanat Melanoma, which require different treatments. The most common one is the cancer where it develops in a cell that produces the color melanin in the skin, which is quite known to everybody as it defines the color of an individual's skin tone. This cancer hits the cells, which produce melanin in the body and are called melanocytes. The affect of cancer can be seen in the size, color and shape of a mole which one can have anywhere in the body. Slowly the mole might start bleeding, itching or painful sensitivity. One can even develop a new mole with all such problems in the skin.

Skin cancer is very aggressive one and develops very rapidly in other areas of the body. It can be cured and treated if detected in the early stage and before it starts spreading in the other parts of the body. People with fairer skin have more chances to get skin cancer than dark skinned people. But dark skin is not a protection against melanoma.

What causes the skin cancer

The accurate cause if skin cancer is not known but certain facts are known to develop skin cancer. Like other types of cancer skin too develops it when body starts producing unnecessary cells. In the case of skin cancer most unnecessary cells develop in the outer layer of the skin. These unwanted skin cells forms in many moles on the skin, which develop skin cancer.

It can affect those who have family history of blood cancer. Who have large numbers of moles or freckles in the body have strong chances of getting melanoma. Unprotected exposure of the sun affects the skin to get skin cancer. If one has the inability to get the suntan have string chances of getting skin cancer. In many cases immunosuppressive disorder can be a cause to develop skin cancer.

Treatment for the skin cancer

Your doctor might need to perform some laboratory test and variety of diagnostics to detect your skin cancer. He might need to do plenty of such tests to know that at what stage your cancer has reached or if it's affecting your other body parts. Technology has developed beyond your perception. A qualified doctor can guide you to select the best cancer treatment for you, which have maximum chances for the cure.

When you start the treatment your doctor needs to monitor you at every stage during and after your treatment. When the doctor starts the treatment for your cancer first he does the normal commonly known diagnostics, screening and monitoring test for the cancer then he does the genetic testing which helps him to recognize about the family history to survive the cancer. After knowing the results of such tests doctor tries to monitor the blood counts. You can take advice from more than one doctor to get the best surviving treatment for the cancer.

Options for the skin cancer treatment

There are plenty of options available in today's world to cure the cancer. You can collect the information about the different treatment options available in the medical world, which can help and guide you and your doctor to select the best option for your survival. Treatment starts after doing all the necessary test and diagnosis, which help the doctor to know which stage the cancer has reached on. Major it depends on the stage of the cancer then only the doctor can decide which treatment has to be given to the diseased person. In general, treatment may require complete surgical removal of the cancer by removing the lymph nodes in the area of melanoma for evidence of cancer cells.

Permanent removal of the melanoma prevents the further spread of the disease as it has strong chances of recurrence or relapsing in the body. Once when the skin cancer is detected it has 95% chances to be cured because technology has developed a lot and doctors have plenty of treatment options available. Bit its not an simple disease where if the disease is inherited in a very early stage of life and has been diagnosed at a later stage as 2 and or last stage then the patient have only 5 percent chances of surviving. New treatments have anyways improved the chances of surviving. Situation turns worse when the skin cancer starts spreading to the other organs of the body. Then even surgery cannot cure it. Though tumors can be removed by surgery and can bring some relief. In more complicated cases radiation and immunotherapy have to be done.