Look Out For The Early Stages Of Skin Cancer
The diagnosis of skin cancer can be devastating. It is a scary time and you may be wondering what you should do next. If your skin cancer has been detected in its early stages your chance of survival is very good.
The best chance of keeping skin cancer under control is to be aware of your skin and notice any changes early enough to catch it before it progresses. Your odds of beating it greatly improve if you are proactive and catch it early.
In the first stages of skin cancer you will find out whether you have a non-melanoma skin cancer or a melanoma skin cancer. Early stages for both of these have a very good prognosis for survival. A basal cell carcinoma is very rarely spread beyond a second stage so the prognosis is very good if this is the type of skin cancer that you have.
If it is not stopped, melanoma skin cancer will advance rapidly past stage I and into stage II. That is why it is important to take immediate steps if you have a diagnosis of melanoma. If it is detected during stage I or II, melanoma has an almost 100% survival rate over five years. If detected at stage III, the survival rate decreases to sixty percent. This is quite a drop and makes it clear that early detection makes a big difference in success of treatment of melanoma skin cancer.
It is absolutely vital that you regularly check your skin at least once a month. A doctor should also see you regularly so that your skin can be checked as a part of your normal physical. If you notice anything suspicious on your skin you should have it checked out by a doctor immediately. This is especially true if you have a mole or discoloration that is changing shape and or color.
If you have a wound that doesn’t heal, be sure to let your doctor know about it. Ask your doctor what melanoma skin cancer looks like. Armed with this knowledge, you will know what to look for when you do self exams. It is important that you be able to identify any skin cancer you find.
Early stages of skin cancer can be relatively small in size, about the size of a pea, and progressively grows larger. Eventually other organs will become involved as the cancer progresses through the body. Once this happens the survival rate will drop and other forms of treatment, aside from removal of the cancer, will be necessary.
Tags: Cancer