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Skin Cancer: Causes, Treatment, and Prevention


Credit: Vanguardngr.com
Credit: WebMD
It's really a good news that our Banky (Banky W) survived his skin cancer surgery.

We at Care For Naija celebrate with him, his fiancee Adesuwa Etomi and well wishers. We thank God for his life.

Today, skin cancer will be our focus. Please bear it in mind tha Banky W is not the first person to have suffered for skin cancer and will not be the last person. Skin cancer have kill countless number of people and many are still living with it.

Our focus today is skin cancer. Most of us must have heard skin cancer but don't really know what is it.

What is Skin Cancer?

Skin Cancer is the cancer that arises from the skin cells, often due to too much sun exposure over, years.

Skin cancer often start in the skin cells before spreading to other organs of the body.

Just like any other illness, early detection and early treatment is the key to survival of skin cancer.

Do We Have Different Types of Skin Cancer?

Yes.

There are three main types of skin cancers:

- Basal-cell skin cancer (BCC)

- Sequamous-cell skin (SCC) and

- Melanoma.

What Causes Skin Cancer ?

- Sunlight: The main cause of skin cancer is sunlight. Ultraviolet (UV) from sunlight can alter the genetic materials causing malignant cell mutations.

Sunlamps, sun beds and X-rays also generate UV rays that can also cause skin cancer.

Other possible causes of skin cancer include:

- Smoking of tobacco

- HPV infection

- Some genetic syndromes including congenital melanocytic nevi syndrome

- The use of many immunosuppressive  medications increases the risk of skin cancer.

What are the Signs and Symptoms of Skin Cancer ?

The signs and symptoms of skin cancer vary in different types of skin cancers.

However, the following symptoms are common in all:

Changes in the skin that do not heal,

Ulcering  in the skin,

Discoloured skin, and

Changes in existing moles (Pigmented spot on the skin)

Who is at risk of skin cancer?

Skin cancer tends to affect people of light skin colour because of little of  amount of the protective pigment melanin.

Dark-skinned people are rarely affected, and then only on light areas of the body such as the soles of the feet or under fingernails or toenails.

Do We have Treatments for Cancer ?

Yes.

There are many methods to treat skin cancer.

However, the method of treatment to be used is dependent on many factors such as

Age of patient,

Type of the skin cancer,

Location of the cancer and

Whether the cancer is primary or a recurrence.

Some treatment methods for skin cancer include:

Mohs surgery

CCPDMA (Complete Circumferential Peripheral and Deep Margin Assessment)

Use of biologic immunotherapy

Use photodynamic therapy

Topical chemotherapy,

Electro-desiccation  and curettage



Is Skin Cancer  Preventable ?

Yes.

The risk of developing skin cancer can be reduced through a number of measures including

Avoid indoor tanning and mid day sun exposure,

Wear protective clothings, hat and sunglasses

Increase the use of sunscreen and

Avoid  the use of tobacco products.

We thank God again for life of our brother Banky W.

Please don't forget to comment because it will be appreciated.

Thank You and have a nice week ahead.

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Location: Agbor, Nigeria

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