21 Sep Check for signs and symptoms of skin cancer
Skin cancer can develop into terminal illness leading to disfigurement, surgery, and even fatality. If you observe any new moles or growths in your skin recently and feel uncomfortable with doubts, do contact your immediate General Practitioner for a skin cancer check and a swift diagnosis. Always be on the lookout for new growths or color variation patches across any part of your body.
Types and symptoms
Skin cancer can come across different shapes and patterns. The different types of it are namely, Melanoma, Basal Cell Carcinoma, and Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer. If it is left untreated, it can spread all across your body making it a losing battle to win. Melanoma can appear as new spots or diverge with a current place to give rise to new colors, formations, and patterns. Melanoma seems in areas which are not much exposed to the sun.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer as well as the least fatal. These lumps appear on dry, scaly skins mostly exposed to the sun. These lumps are reddish and may ulcerate or decline to heal completely.
Squamous cell carcinoma is a type of thick reddish, scaly spot that is prone to bleeding and ulcerates. This growth appears in areas often exposed to ultraviolet rays of the sun and in aged people usually over the age of fifty.
Early detection tips
Follow the ABCDE guide for fast detection tips.
“A” stands for patterns and growths that lack symmetry. Two sides of the same spot don’t match or look alike.
“B” is for an irregularly shaped border.
“C” expands for color. Watch out for colors like black, grey, red, blue and white for the patch.
“D” is for the expanding radius of the growths or patches’ diameter.
“E” stands for evolving growth and shape of the patch.
A few other tips to watch out for are new moles, moles that increase in size with time, bleed and itch and also become scaly with time.
A point to be noted is that different skin types are more prone to skin cancer from the excessive damage gained through ultraviolet radiation burns. Light-pigmented skins are more prone to such damage as the melanin produced in such skin is comparatively less compared to darkly pigmented skin types. Melanin protects a certain amount against UV burns.