Skin+Cancer

=**Skin Cancer**=
 * Skin cancer is the single most common type of cancer in humans.**
 * One in five Americans now develops skins cancer at some point in his or her life.**

**Three major types are:**

 * Basal Cell Carcinoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and Malignant Melanoma.**

**Basal Cell Carcinoma**



 * What is it?**
 * **new skin growth that doesn't heal well**
 * **growth that is regularly exposed to sunlight and ultraviolet radiation**
 * **most commonly found on the face**
 * **most common form of cancer**


 * What are the risk factors?**
 * **if you have light colored skin**
 * **overexposure to x-rays**
 * **therapeutic radiation**


 * What does it look like?**
 * **a skin sore that easily bleeds**
 * **sore that does not heal for a long period of time**
 * **appearance of a scar-like sore without having injured the area**
 * **sore with a depressed area in the middle**


 * What's the treatment?**
 * **surgical excision(tumor is cut out and stitched up)**
 * **medical therapy using creams**
 * **radiation therapy**
 * **curettage and dessication(scooping out the basal cell carcinoma with a spoon like tool)**

**Squamous Cell Carcinoma**

 * -occurs one fourth less than basal cell carcinoma**
 * -men are typically affected more than women**
 * -usually slow growing and is not easy to spot**


 * What are the risk factors?**
 * **sun exposure**
 * **use of tanning beds**
 * **fair skin**
 * **family or personal history of skin cancer**


 * What are the symptoms?**
 * **red nodule on the face, lower lip, ears, neck, hands, or arms**
 * **occasional bleeding of the nodule**
 * **flat lesion with scaly crust**
 * **raised area on pre-exsisting ulcer**


 * How is it treated?**
 * **simple excision(cutting out the cancerous tissue)**
 * **laser therapy**
 * **freezing**


 * How do you prevent it?**
 * **avoid staying in the midday sun for a long period of time**
 * **use sunscreen**
 * **avoid tanning beds**
 * **be aware some medicines make skin more sensitive**
 * **perform regular skin checks with doctor**

**Malignant Melanoma**



 * What is it?**
 * **cancer of the melanocytes**
 * **is often deadly (chance of survival is 50%)**
 * **can begin wherever there is pigment**
 * **arises from accumulated DNA damage in a skin cell**
 * **usually appears as a spreading brown to black patch that quickly surrounds lymph and blood vessels**


 * What are the risk factors?**
 * **history of often getting sunburn**
 * **having many moles or unusual moles**
 * **family history of melanoma**


 * What is the treatment?**
 * **surgery to remove lymph nodes**
 * **radiation therapy**
 * **biological therapy**


 * How do you prevent it?**
 * **wear protective clothing**
 * **become fimliar with changes in moles and skin**
 * **avoid tanning beds**