Skin Cancer: A Woman's Worst Nightmare

By: malo

The skin, which turns out to be a woman's pride, is always part of her vanity ritual. This ritual involves the use of every imaginable soap or lotion ever invented to pamper and keep the skin silky smooth. Almost every pampering method is exploited to lavish care and attention on the precious skin. That is why when a woman develops skin cancer, her world is totally crushed and her self-esteem is immediately shattered.

A skin cancer is a cancer that results in the overproduction of harmful cells on the skin. This cancer is usually detected by looking for a pigment called melanoma. Signs of skin cancer include a sudden change in the appearance of the skin or the presence of wounds or sores that don't heal. The two most common forms of skin cancer are asquamous cells and carcinoma. These two are also better known as non-melanoma skin cancer. There is an estimated 1,000,000 new cases of non-melanoma cancer in the United States for this year alone.

Skin cancer occurs when the UV Light (Ultra Violet) from the sun damages the DNA in skin, causing skin cells to mutate and grow into cancers. Although sunlight is very important, it keeps us warm and it allows skin to manufacture vitamin D which is essential to metabolic processes that leads to having strong bones. On the other hand,the UV light found in sunlight damages the DNA in skin, causing its skin cells to mutate.

People who are at most risk or likely to get skin cancer are those people who spent a lot of time outdoors. People who engage in frequent outdoor activities like mountaineering, rock climbing, hiking, working in the farm, or fishing are thought to be predisposed to skin cancer. Urbanites who fancy spending their weekends on hot tropical island getaways are also at risk.

Generally when a cancer is found, it is removed through surgical means and it's only in advanced cases that the use of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy is considered. Another least common type of skin cancer is the melanoma which is mostly a common skin cancer in men and women between the ages of 15 to 44 years old. Melanoma is a cancer of melancytes— and usually looks dark brown, black or blue-black. It can looked flat or raised. It can look as a patch of normal skin like a mole or a freckle. Some signs of this cancer include:

1. A change of color (much darker than before)
2. Bleeding
3. Itching
4. A mole appears for the first time when you are already over 30

PREVENTING SKIN CANCER AND OTHER SKIN CARE TREATMENT TIPS

l The sun is at its peak between 10 am to 4 pm and so try to seek the shade or bring a hat or umbrella with you if there is no place that you can seek as a cover from the heat rays.
l Use a sunscreen always with an SPF of 15 or higher when ever possible
l Use a UV-blocking sunglasses.
l Examine your skin, look for some slight changes.
l When in doubt seek help from a skin professional so you can take some skin test.

The overall outlook is that you can prevent skin cancer. If you suspect that your mole is cancerous, let a well-trained doctor examine it right away or visit a dermatologist.