Melanoma - Surviving the Least Common But Most Dangerous Form of Skin Cancer

Skin cancer has three major forms. All of these are known, at least in part, to be caused by exposure to sunlight. The skin cells' genetic operations can be disrupted by the ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, the possible consequence of which is the development of precancerous and cancerous cells. Basal cell carcinoma (also known as rodent ulcer), squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma are the three major forms of skin cancer, the latter being the most dangerous of the three.

Since the skin's topmost layers are the first to be affected by the ultraviolet rays from sunlight, all three forms of skin cancer develop in the skin's upper layer, or epidermis. Likewise, all three forms have one common symptom which you have to keep watch of - "change." Melanoma, however, has its own special set of symptoms.

The presence of melanoma is usually indicated by the alteration of the color of either a patch of skin or a mole. Because this form of skin cancer involves cells that produce black and brown pigments, you have to be particularly aware of changes in dark spots, patches, or moles. Some of the signs that you have to be on the lookout for are moles that bleed, the emergence of new moles, and the changing of color or shape of any new or old dark spot.

It is said that the lighter one's skin and eye color, the more easily he or she will sunburn; consequently, the more likely he or she is to develop skin cancer. With exposure to sunlight over both short and long periods, this probability becomes progressively greater. Farming and sunbathing on a beach are two of the most common ways by which one is most likely to get skin cancer.

Some people even sunbathe on a beach to the point of blistering - an almost certain way that one will develop skin cancer. But even moderate sunbathing summer after summer can increase one's risk of getting the disease. Over time, the damage to skin cells piles up little by little; this makes people in their middle or later years as those most likely to develop skin cancer. How can the risk be reduced then?

Obviously, the simplest way to avoid developing skin cancer is to reduce the skin's exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun. Any one of these three basic ways, or a combination of them, can do the trick: limit your time in the sun, protect your skin with clothing (when you're out in the sun), and use a suntan lotion (if you must stay out in the sun and can't protect your skin from sunlight) - really very simple ways.

What makes melanoma the most serious of the skin cancers is that the moment it begins to develop, it can spread quickly. The condition, however, doesn't have to be a death sentence. If detected and treated early enough, this disease may be cured in about seventy-five percent of cases. There are in fact known stories of remarkable people who survived their respective melanoma cases naturally.

If you or one of your loved ones is suffering from melanoma skin cancer, know that this condition doesn't have to be a death sentence. Learn about the stories of seven remarkable people who survived their respective melanoma cases naturally. Visit How I Survived Melanoma Skin Cancer - Seven Survivors Tell Their Stories at Survive Melanoma Skin Cancer.

For more health information, visit Round the Clock Health Guide

Jim Lorenz writes informative articles on various subjects, including Melanoma: Surviving the Least Common but Most Dangerous Form of Skin Cancer. You are allowed to publish this article in its entirety provided that the author's name, bio, and website links must remain intact and included with every reproduction.

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Skin Cancer - Are You at High Risk For Skin Cancer?

If you have been reading newspaper or listening to news regularly over the past few years, you should have come across several warnings telling us to protect ourselves from skin cancer. Whilst there are many who do pay attention to these cautions, a shocking count of women still ignores them. If you are amongst those women that ignore these warnings, you are likely to think that it's impossible for you to get affected by skin cancer. Again, you might feel it to be no harm, if you miss applying sun tan lotion while moving out.

Skin cancer is not a rare phenomenon, as people consider it to be. Whilst it's true that staying unprotected in the sun for short duration seldom leads to cancer, you might still face its wrath. Most women get affected with skin cancer after exposing themselves to the sun for a long period of time. As a matter of fact, almost 75% of women diagnosed with it every year have a history of constant sun exposure. Although cancer might occur after severe sunburns, it usually results for many years in the sun.

Do you stay long in an open environment for long periods and get frequently bathed by sun without having any protection on your skin? If you do, then are you at high risk for skin cancer? Again, is there any spot on your skin, which has been bothering you for long? Can it be cancerous? If you even have a feeling that the spot can be cancerous, you should immediately schedule a visit with your doctor!

Definite diagnosis can only be made once a biopsy is performed.

Over 99 percent of women, who are diagnosed with cancer on their skin, have:

Basal cell skin cancer: Women developing these sores find that a pimple or a scab grows on their skin, bleeds or drains, and then scabs again. This cycle is seen to continue repeatedly and has been found tough to heal completely.

Squamous skin cancer: It looks similar to basal carcinomas. They also appear rough and have scaly patches on the skin, which do not disappear.

These 2 cancer types usually appear in nose and similar other regions of the skin, which frequently receives direct rays from the sun. Skin of your nose is very much tender, and can be at high risk for non-melanoma cancer. Both basal cell and squamous skin cancer are treatable, if you choose to remove them surgically.

Usually, women develop non-melanoma cancers on their nose or face. However, sometimes melanoma occurs on their face too. Such cancer types spread rapidly and can be deadly, if it stays undetected and untreated in its initial stages. Sometimes, it's difficult to differentiate the two types. This is the reason why you should see a doctor, whenever you notice something wrong with your skin.

If you have a belief that you are at high risks of skin cancer, you should immediately schedule appointments with your doctor. Skin cancers can be successfully treated, if they are caught in their initial stages.

Your life might totally depend on the early detection & diagnosis of a bothersome sore on the skin. So don't even think about delaying!

Women's Abortions Clinic Dr. James S. Pendergraft opened the Orlando Women's Center in March 1996 to provide a full range of health care for women, including abortions, physical examinations, family planning, counseling, laboratory services and sexually transmitted disease screening and counseling. Women's Abortions Clinic

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