6 Most Common Skin Cancer Symptoms And How To Treat Them

Each year, skin cancer kills more than 2,000 Australians. However, more than 750,000 cases of this disease are cured by various treatments. Another worrying statistic is this: 2 out of every 3 Australians will get this disease on reaching 70 years. More men than women are likely to get skin cancer.

However, the good is that if you can detect this disease early, you can beat it with timely interventions. Without going to the doctor, you can make some early deductions about skin cancer. This article lists the six most common skin cancer symptoms. Later, we shall see how these signs can be treated. Before we proceed, let’s understand that there are three significant kinds of skin cancer. These are:

1. Basal Cell Skin Cancer

This is the most common form of this disease. BCC or Basal Cell Carcinoma occurs when the basal cells of skin grow abnormally. Because this growth happens slowly, this disease can be diagnosed early. The two common symptoms of Basal Cell Carcinoma are:

Your skin might ooze, may look crusty, itch or bleed.
Sometimes, your skin may have shiny bumps, red patches or open sores.

There are other symptoms, too of this disease; you may click this website to know more.

2. Squamous Cell Carcinoma

This cancer occurs due to over-exposure of certain parts of the body to the sun. The more common parts of our body where squamous cell carcinoma occurs are- head, neck, upper back, arms, thighs, etc. This cancer may spread to the other parts of our body like underlying tissues, bones or the lymph nodes. When SCC reaches lymph nodes, it might become dangerous. Like BCC, this cancer can be easily detected and later quickly treated. The two more common symptoms of squamous cell carcinoma are:

There is a dome-shaped bump on your skin.
A red scaly patch of skin

This area can bleed on getting scraped.

3. The third form of skin cancer is known as Melanoma.

Though it is uncommon, Melanoma is difficult to detect and is life-threatening in many cases. Melanoma occurs when melanin-producing cells multiply uncontrollably. In men, this disease happens more on the chest, and back, while among women, it is the leg area. Overexposure to the sun may lead to this disease. The two most common symptoms of Melanoma are:

Change in the size, colour, and shape of the moles on your skin
A skin sore that takes a lot of time to heal

There are other symptoms, too of this disease.

Now that we know the top 6 symptoms of skin cancer let’s read a bit about their treatments.

1. Melanoma symptoms can be treated by:

a) Radiation Therapy: Here, a beam of X-rays is directed toward the affected skin patch. This way, doctors kill the cancerous cells and halt their spread to other parts of the body. If the spread has already started, doctors then use Chemotherapy.

b) Chemotherapy: Here, doctors apply special creams or ointments on the skin to treat the Melanoma.

c) Immunotherapy: Doctors inject certain drugs inside the body that are responsible for improving the immune systems.

2. Basal Cell Carcinoma

This cancer can be treated with surgery. One of the surgical methods is Moh’s surgery. In this procedure, the surgeon peels off the affected skin and examines it. The process is continued until the cancer cells do not remain in the affected area. Sometimes, cancer cells are rendered ineffective by freezing them by liquid nitrogen.

3. Squamous Cell Carcinoma

This cancer can be treated by simple surgery conducted either at the hospital or in a clinic. The surgeon may cut the affected skin and heal the wound using a small needle. Sometime, he may conduct Moh’s surgery to treat this disease.