Skin cancer happens when something changes how your skin grows, like exposure to ultraviolet light. Symptoms include new bumps or patches on your skin or changes in the shape, size, or color of the skin growths. Most of them skin cancer is treatable if it’s caught early. Treatments include Mohs surgery, chemotherapy, chemotherapy, and radiation.
What is Skin Cancer?
Skin cancer is a disease that involves the growth of abnormal cells in skin tissues of your body. Typically, as skin cells grow old and die, new cells form to replace them. When this process doesn’t work as it should after exposure to UV light from the sun, cells grow more quickly. These cells may be non-cancerous, which don’t spread or cause harm. Or they may be cancerous.
Skin cancer can spread to nearby tissue or other areas in your body if not caught early. Fortunately, if skin cancer is identified and treated in early stages, most can be cured. So, it is essential to talk with your healthcare provider if you think you have any signs of skin cancer.
Types of Skin Cancer
There are mainly three types of skin cancer:
1. Basal cell carcinoma
It forms in the basal cells in the lower part of your epidermis.
2. Squamous cell carcinoma
It forms in your squamous cells in the outside layer of your skin.
3. Melanoma
It forms in cells called melanocytes. Melanocyte cells produce melanin, a brown pigment that gives your skin its color and protects against some of the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays. This is the most severe type of skin cancer because it can spread to other areas of your body.
Symptoms of Skin Cancer
The most common warning sign of skin cancer is a change in your skin, typically a new growth or a change in an existing growth or mole. Skin cancer symptoms include:
- A new mole, or a mole that changes in shape, size, or color, or that bleeds.
- A waxy or pearly bump on your face, ears, or neck.
- A flat, pink, red, or brown colored patch.
- Areas on skin that look like scars.
- Sores that look crusty have a depression in the middle or bleed again.
- A rough, scaly lesion that might itch, bleed, and also become crusty.
What does skin cancer look like?
Skin cancer looks different, it deppends on what type of skin cancer you have. Thinking of the ABCDE rule that tells you what signs to look for:
- Asymmetry: Irregular shape.
- Border: Blurry or irregularly shaped edges.
- Color: Mole with more than one colour.
- Diameter: Larger than a pencil eraser.
Evolution: Enlarging, changing in colour, shape, or size.
What causes the condition?
The leading cause of skin cancer is overexposure to UV rays, especially when you have sunburn and blistering. Ultra Violet rays from the damaged DNA in your skin cause abnormal cells to form. These abnormal cells rapidly divide disorganizedly, creates a mass of cancer cells.
How is skin cancer diagnosed?
A skin doctor in Kanpur may ask you if you’ve noticed changes in any existing moles, freckles, or other skin spots or if you’ve noticed any new skin growths. Next, they’ll examine all of your skin, including your scalp, palms, ears, soles of your feet, around your genitals, between your toes, and between your buttocks.
1. Cryotherapy
Your skin doctor in Kanpur uses liquid nitrogen to freeze skin cancer. The dead cells slough off after the procedure.
2. Excisional surgery
Your dermatologist in Kanpur removes the tumour and some surrounding healthy skin to be sure all the cancer is gone.
3. Mohs surgery
Your best skin specialist in Kanpur removes only diseased tissue, saving as much surrounding normal tissue as possible. Dermatologists in Kanpur use this to treat basal cells and squamous cell cancers and, sometimes, other skin cancers that develop near sensitive or cosmetically essential areas, like your eyelids, lips, forehead, ears, fingers, scalp, or genital area.
4. Curettage and electrodesiccation
Your dermatologist in Kanpur uses an instrument with a sharp, looped edge to remove cancer cells as it scrapes across the tumour. Then, they use an electric needle to destroy any remaining cancer cells from your body. Providers often use this to treat basal cells, squamous cell cancers, and precancerous skin tumours.
5. Chemotherapy
Your skin doctor in Kanpur uses medications to kill cancer cells. Anticancer medicines can be applied directly on the skin if limited to your skin’s top layer or provided through pills or an IV if the cancer has spread to other parts of your body.
6. Immunotherapy
Your dermatologist in Kanpur gives you medications to train your immune system to kill cancer cells.
7. Radiation therapy
Your radiation dermatologist in Kanpur uses radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing and dividing.
8. Photodynamic Therapy
Your skin doctor in Kanpur coats your skin with medication, which they activate with a blue or red fluorescent light. This therapy destroys precancerous cells while leaving normal cells alone in your body.
When to See a Skin Doctor in Kanpur?
Make an appointment with the best skin specialist in Kanpur as soon as you notice:
- Any changes to your skin or changes in the shape, size, or color of existing moles or other skin lesions.
- Appearance of a new growth on skin.
- A sore that doesn’t heal.
- Spots on the skin that are different from others.
- Any spots that change, itch, or bleed.
Your skin doctor in Kanpur will check your skin, take a biopsy, make a diagnosis and discuss treatment. Also, see a dermatologist in Kanpur annually for a complete skin review.
