Any questions you have about Skin Cancer, Sun Protection/Prevention, should be discussed with your Dermatologist.
Do not try to self diagnose as these are just examples of different types, and should be examined by your Dermatologist.
Skin cancer is the most prevalent of all cancers. Sun avoidance is the best defense against skin cancer and early detection is the key to a cure.
The Dangers of Tanning
A tan, whether you get it on the beach, in a bed, or through incidental exposure, is bad news, any way you acquire it. Tans are caused by harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or tanning lamps, and if you have one, you’ve sustained skin cell damage.
No matter what you may hear at tanning salons, the cumulative damage caused by UV radiation can lead to premature skin aging (wrinkles, lax skin, brown spots, and more), as well as skin cancer. In fact, indoor ultraviolet (UV) tanners are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma than those who have never tanned indoors.
The number of skin cancer cases due to tanning is higher than the number of lung cancer cases due to smoking.
- In the US alone, 419,254 cases of skin cancer can be attributed to indoor tanning. Out of this number, 6,199 are melanoma cases.
The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Position:
The study results demonstrate that tanning bed use, particularly among young people, is an alarmingly widespread behavior. In the US, 35% of adults and 55% of college students have tanned, and the study found there are more than 419,000 new skin cancer cases attributable to indoor tanning each year. Worldwide, there are more skin cancer cases due to indoor tanning than there are lung cancer cases due to smoking.
The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends that everyone practice monthly head-to-toe self examination of their skin, so that they can find any new or changing lesions that might be cancerous or precancerous. Skin cancers found and removed early are almost always curable. Learn about the warnings signs of skin cancer and what to look for during a self examination. If you spot anything suspicious, see a doctor.
Performed regularly, self examination can alert you to changes in your skin and aid in the early detection of skin cancer. It should be done often enough to become a habit, but not so often as to feel like a bother. For most people, once a month is ideal, but ask your doctor if you should do more frequent checks.
You may find it helpful to have a doctor do a full-body exam first, to assure you that any existing spots, freckles, or moles are normal or treat any that may not be. After the first few times, self examination should take no more than 10 minutes – a small investment in what could be a life-saving procedure.
Types of Skin Cancer
DYSPLASTIC NEVI (atypical moles)
Unusual benign moles that may resemble melanoma. People who have them are at increased risk of developing single or multiple melanomas. The higher the number of these moles someone has, the higher the risk; those who have 10 or more have 12 times the risk of developing melanoma compared to the general population. Dysplastic nevi are found significantly more often in melanoma patients than in the general population.
Medical reports indicate that about 2 to 8 percent of the Caucasian population have these moles. Heredity appears to play a part in their formation. Those who have dysplastic nevi plus a family history of melanoma (two or more close blood relatives with the disease) have an extremely high risk of developing melanoma. Individuals who have dysplastic nevi, but no family history of melanoma, still face a 7 to 27 times higher risk of developing melanoma compared to the general population—certainly a great enough risk to warrant monthly self-examination, regular professional skin exams and daily sun protection.
Actinic Keratoses (AK)
Potential Precancer
Actinic keratoses (AK), also called solar keratoses, are scaly, crusty growths (lesions) caused by damage from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. They typically appear on sun-exposed areas such as the face, bald scalp, lips, and the back of the hands, and are often elevated, rough in texture, and resemble warts. Most become red, but some will be tan, pink, and/or flesh-toned. If left untreated, up to ten percent of AKs develop into squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the second most common form of skin cancer. In rarer instances, AKs may also turn into basal cell carcinomas, the most common form of skin cancer.
More than 58 Million
This figure is generally accepted as the best current estimate of the number of Americans with actinic keratosis. People with a fair complexion, blond or red hair, and blue, green or grey eyes have a high likelihood of developing AKs if they spend time in the sun and live long enough. Location makes a difference: The closer to the equator you live, the more likely you are to have actinic keratoses. The incidence is slightly higher in men, because they tend to spend more time in the sun and use less sun protection than women do.
Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC)
The Most Frequently Occurring Form of Skin Cancer
BCCs are abnormal, uncontrolled growths or lesions that arise in the skin’s basal cells, which line the deepest layer of the epidermis (the outermost layer of the skin). BCCs often look like open sores, red patches, pink growths, shiny bumps, or scars and are usually caused by a combination of cumulative and intense, occasional sun exposure.
BCC almost never spreads (metastasizes) beyond the original tumor site. Only in exceedingly rare cases can it spread to other parts of the body and become life-threatening. It shouldn’t be taken lightly, though: it can be disfiguring if not treated promptly.
In 2010, an estimated 2.8 million cases of BCC were diagnosed in the US, and the figures have continued to climb. In fact, BCC is the most frequently occurring form of all cancers. More than one out of every three new cancers is a skin cancer, and the vast majority are BCCs.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma
The Second Most Common Form of Skin Cancer
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells arising in the squamous cells, which compose most of the skin’s upper layers (the epidermis). SCCs often look like scaly red patches, open sores, elevated growths with a central depression, or warts; they may crust or bleed. They can become disfiguring and sometimes deadly if allowed to grow.
SCC is mainly caused by cumulative ultraviolet (UV) exposure over the course of a lifetime; daily year-round exposure to the sun’s UV light, intense exposure in the summer months, and the UV produced by tanning beds all add to the damage that can lead to SCC.
SCCs may occur on all areas of the body including the mucous membranes and genitals, but are most common in areas frequently exposed to the sun, such as the rim of the ear, lower lip, face, balding scalp, neck, hands, arms and legs. Often the skin in these areas reveals telltale signs of sun damage, including wrinkles, pigment changes, freckles, “age spots,” loss of elasticity, and broken blood vessels.
A persistent, scaly red patch with irregular borders that sometimes crusts or bleeds.
Melanoma
The most dangerous form of skin cancer, these cancerous growths develop when unrepaired DNA damage to skin cells (most often caused by ultraviolet radiation from sunshine or tanning beds) triggers mutations (genetic defects) that lead the skin cells to multiply rapidly and form malignant tumors. These tumors originate in the pigment-producing melanocytes in the basal layer of the epidermis. Melanomas often resemble moles; some develop from moles. The majority of melanomas are black or brown, but they can also be skin-colored, pink, red, purple, blue or white. Melanoma is caused mainly by intense, occasional UV exposure (frequently leading to sunburn), especially in those who are genetically predisposed to the disease. Melanoma kills an estimated 9,940 people in the US annually.
If melanoma is recognized and treated early, it is almost always curable, but if it is not, the cancer can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal. While it is not the most common of the skin cancers, it causes the most deaths.
Moles, brown spots and growths on the skin are usually harmless – but not always. Anyone who has more than 100 moles is at greater risk for melanoma. The first signs can appear in one or more atypical moles. That’s why it’s so important to get to know your skin very well and to recognize any changes in the moles on your body.
Look for the ABCDE signs of melanoma, and if you see one or more, make an appointment with a physician immediately.
There are five signs that suggest malignancy in pigmented lesions, often referred to as the ABCDE’s of Malignant Melanoma.
- Asymmetry – , If you draw a line through a mole, the two halves will not match, meaning it is asymmetrical, a warning sign for melanoma.
- Border Irregularity – The borders of an early melanoma tend to be uneven. The edges may be scalloped or notched.
- Color – Most benign moles are all one color – often a single shade of brown. Having a variety of colors is another warning signal
- Diameter – Melanomas usually are larger in diameter than the eraser on your pencil tip (¼ inch or 6mm), but they may sometimes be smaller when first detected.
- Evolving – Common, benign moles look the same over time. Be on the alert when a mole starts to evolve or change in any way.
The most important step you can take, is to have a changing mole or non-healing lesion examined by a dermatologist, so that any early Melanoma or skin cancer can be removed while still in the curable stage.