May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Skin cancer is essentially a lifestyle disease – a disease that is associated with the way a person lives. Preparing yourself with knowledge of skin cancer is a first step in your defense of this very common and serious disease. In fact, skin cancer is so common that one in five Americans will develop it in the course of their lifetime.
Ninety percent of non-melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. The good news is, skin cancer is highly treatable when detected early, but may be deadly if allowed to grow. There are several kinds of skin cancers. Basal Cell Carcinoma is one of them and is the most frequently occurring form of all cancers. More than one in three new cancers is a skin cancer, and the vast majority are basal cell carcinomas.
What are basal cell carcinomas?
Basal cell carcinomas are abnormal, uncontrolled growths that usually develop on sun-exposed parts of your body, especially your head and neck. They can occur on any part of your body – even those that are rarely exposed to sunlight. They arise in your skin’s basal cells, which line the deepest layer of your skin. Basal cell carcinomas almost never spread beyond the original site. However, they shouldn’t be taken lightly, because they can be disfiguring and may be deadly if not treated promptly.
Although a general warning sign of skin cancer is a sore that won’t heal or that repeatedly bleeds and scabs over, basal cell carcinomas may also appear as:
Check your body…all of it. If you have a suspicious growth or have had basal cell carcinoma in the past, call to schedule an appointment, today, and approach the sunny days of summer skin cancer-free: Pottsville – (570) 622-2900; Hazleton – (570) 455-4252.