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alignant tumors of the skin are the most common cancers of the human body. They are also the easiest forms of malignancy to treat. Almost 100 percent of all skin cancers – there are more than 1,000,000 new cases diagnosed each year – are completely curable.
Some of the well-known people who developed skin cancer are Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton.
Since the skin is the largest and most exposed organ of the body, it is vulnerable to more environmental attacks from injury, weather, and sunlight than other organs. This, coupled with exposure of the skin to various chemicals and industrial compounds, such as tar and arsenic, predispose our large “envelope” to malignant growths.
And because these tumors are directly visible and easily accessible, they offer a unique opportunity for early diagnosis, treatment, and cure.
While the cause of skin cancer, like all cancers, remains a mystery, we do know a fair amount concerning the nature of the disease. Cancer of the skin occurs most frequently in fair-haired and fair-skinned people – those who lack adequate quantities of melanin, a pigment substance that filters out the deleterious rays of the sun. Most skin cancers develop on surfaces exposed to the sun. It is a common disease of farmers, sailors, fishermen, and athletes who often spend a lifetime outdoors.
There are two common types of skin malignancies: the basal cell carcinoma and the squamous cell carcinoma.
The basal cell carcinoma, the least aggressive of all cancers of the skin, grows very slowly and almost never spreads (metastasizes) to distant areas of the body. In its most common form, it is characterized by a pearly, waxy-looking nodule that may ulcerate after a period of time. It is what I call a “friendly” malignancy and is completely curable if destroyed before extensive growth has materialized. When left untreated, these slow-growing tumors invade and destroy the adjacent and deeper tissues including the bone. They rarely, if ever, occur in black people.
The squamous cell carcinoma, on the other hand, is a relatively dangerous tumor, one which, if allowed to grow, can spread to involve the nearby lymph glands and internal organs. Fortunately, these cancers, which occur primarily on the sun-exposed areas of the face, rim of the ears, neck, and hands, are much more rare than the basal cell type. It rarely found in dark-skinned persons.
Early recognition and prompt, adequate treatment for all malignancies of the skin are essential. Early signs include any new growth that does not heal or any change in an existing growth. If you have either of these signs, see your physician at once.
If your dermatologist suspects “unfriendly” cells, she or he will surgically remove – under local anesthesia – a small piece of diseased tissue and have it examined microscopically for any possibility of malignancy. This procedure is known as a biopsy.
If the tumor is malignant, treatment will depend upon the location and size of the growth, the nature of the cancerous cells, and whether any spread is apparent. For the small, simple, “friendly” basal cell cancers, cauterization with an electric needle or surgical excision is a simple, quick, and safe procedure that can be performed in the doctor’s office. Other methods include freezing techniques; locally applied chemicals – imiquimod (Aldara) is one of the latest surface medications that is being used for the treatment of small, non-facial basal cell cancers – that selectively eradicate the malignant cells; and the new laser treatments. Regardless of the type of therapy, healing is a slow process and scarring is an inevitable consequence.
In all cases and by whatever means, the physician must completely destroy or remove the entire tumor. Periodic follow-up by your physician is necessary to insure against any recurrence of the lesion.
To prevent skin cancers, fair-skinned and sun-sensitive people should avoid unnecessary and excessive sun exposure. At the same time, everyone should use commercial sunscreens, with a sun-protection factor (SPF) of at least 15, to filter out the harmful and cancer-producing rays of the sun.
It’s never too early – or too late – to stop this “quiet epidemic of the 21th century.”
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For more information on skin cancer, log on to: www.aad.org or phone: 1-888-462-DERM x22 also Skin Cancer Foundation 245 Fifth Avenue – Suite 1403 New York, NY 10016 800-754-6490; 212-725-5176 e-mail: info@skincancer.org |
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