Skin cancer occurs when the DNA of the cells undergo mutations, thus causing unsystematic cell growth which evolve into a cancerous mass. This abnormality stems from the over-exposure of your skin to the Ultraviolet Radiations of the sun. 

However, there are other factors too that escalate the risks of skin cancer.

Fairer skin tone: Inadequate pigmentation or melanin content in the skin offers less protection against the harmful UV radiations. Having red or blond hair or light-colored eyes makes you more vulnerable to this condition.
Sunburns: A history of sunburns can often be the root cause behind skin cancer.
Excessive exposure to the sun: If you spend a considerable amount of time under the sun and especially if your skin is not protected by clothing or sunscreen, you tend to get a tan. A tan is the skin s response to extreme UV radiations.
Moles: Abnormally large moles, known as dysplastic nevi, are more likely to turn malignant. Watch out for any change in the texture of the moles, which is one of the most important symptoms of skin cancer.
Family history: According to studies, genes are considered to be one of the causes behind skin cancer. Hence, a family history of this condition could spell trouble for one.
Personal history: Having suffered from skin cancer previously in life could endanger one even more.
Pre-cancerous skin injury: Skin lesions, also known as actinic keratosis, make you prone to developing pre-cancerous growths on the skin. These could appear as scaly rough patches, ranging from brown to pink in color. They usually crop up on the hands, head and faces of people who are comparatively of a fairer skin tone.
A weak immune system: People having a poor immunity system, including the ones affected by HIV/AIDS or are on immunosuppressant drugs which follow any organ transplantation have greater risks of developing cancer.
Exposure to radiation: Radiation therapy is an often used treatment method for treating various skin conditions such as acne and eczema. Having been exposed to radiations, one could be indisposed to this condition even more.
Exposure to certain chemicals: Exposure to certain substances such as arsenic might increase your vulnerability manifold.

Skin Cancer - 10 Things That Can Increase Your Risk!

Skin cancer is a condition with abnormal and cancerous skin growths. This often develops due to the overexposure of skin to the rays of the sun. The three main types of skin cancer include basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Skin cancer affects those areas of skin which remains sun-exposed including ears, neck, chest, scalp, lips, face, hands, arm and legs. It can also develop on those areas of skin that are not exposed to sunlight like beneath toenails or fingernails, on palms and on the genital area.

Risk factors associated with skin cancer

Here are some of the factors which increase your risks of getting skin cancer:

1. Fair complexion: Low levels of the pigment melanin in skin causes fair complexion. Fair- skinned individuals who have a history of hazel or blue eyes, repeated sunburns and people who have red or blond hair are highly susceptible to developing this form of cancer. Less pigment in skin makes an individual more vulnerable to skin damage from harmful UV radiation.

2. Excessive sun exposure: Exposure to the sun may lead to the development of skin cancer if you don't protect your skin by sunscreen and clothing. Tanning beds and lamps may also increase the risk of developing this type of skin cancer.

3. High-altitude places: The exposure to sunlight is more intense in areas of high altitude and near the equator. Living at higher elevation also makes you more vulnerable to radiation because the sunlight is strongest there.

4. Moles: People with abnormal moles are at a higher risk of developing skin cancer. These moles are irregular in shape and are larger than normal moles.

5. Precancerous skin lesions: Your risk of developing skin cancer increases if you have skin lesion. These are scaly and rough patches that range from brown to dark pink in color. The most commonly affected areas are head, hands and face of fair-skinned people.

6. Weak immune system: Weak immune system caused by HIV or AIDS and immunosuppressant drugs that you take after an organ transplant may increase your risk of developing skin cancer.

Skin Cancer - What Can Cause It?

International Childhood Cancer Day is celebrated annually on 15 February to raise awareness and to express support for children and adolescents with cancer, survivors and their families.

Why is Cancer the biggest Threat to the YOUNG in India?

There are fewer Indians who have successfully battled Cancer and have emerged successful. Yuvraj Singh, the legendary cricketer, who was diagnosed with a rare cancer at 29, survived due to an early detection. Cancer cases in India are not as many as they are in the developed world. However, due to late detection the survival rate in the country is far worse. Particularly, we are losing our youth to Cancer. Most tobacco (pan masala) related cancers and child cancers go undetected until very late.

Few cancers like cervical cancer and breast cancer which affect women of any age, are curable, however, due to lack of awareness and timely screening, many Indian women succumb to these cancers. The most common sites for cancer among men are lung, prostate, colon, rectum, stomach and liver while that among women are breast, colon, rectum, lung, cervix and stomach.

In proportion to our population, we lack the right infrastructure nationwide. esp in the northern and north eastern region, there is a dearth of good cancer facilities, where radiation, care or treatment can be given. Not even one third of cancer patients are alive beyond 5 years after their diagnosis in India, and about 71% of cancer deaths occur in patients in their prime productive years   between the ages of 30 to 69 years.

 Most Indians believe that cancer is generally incurable and that it should be kept secret from neighbors and family.  -  Dr Paul Goss, MD, Harvard University.

All these factors have contributed to a very high mortality rate. No wonder Cancer is dreaded in the country. Investment, infrastructure, lifestyles as well as mindsets need to change if we were to contain the Cancer mortality rate. While you need to watch out for early signs of cancer, here are the lifestyle changes every individual esp. all youth must adopt to avoid cancer.

Avoid Tobacco - both smoking and chewing.

Reduce alcohol intake - Save your organs from deteriorating.

Limit UV ray exposure from the sun - Keeps your skin safe.

Maintain a healthy diet - Include foods rich in Vitamins, minerals and fiber which nourish your body and build immunity.

Increase your level of fitness - Maintain a good bodyweight. Additional flab invites a host of troubles, that includes variety of cancers.

Seeking regular medical checkup or screening - This is the only way to prevent and get detected early on.

International Childhood Cancer Day - Why Cancer Is A Threat For Young?

Skin cancer is a condition with abnormal and cancerous skin growth. This often develops due to the over exposure of skin to the sun rays. The three main types of skin cancer include basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Skin cancer affects those areas of skin which remains sun-exposed, including ears, neck, chest, scalp, lips, face, hands, arm and legs. It can also develop on those areas of skin that are not exposed to sunlight like beneath toenails or fingernails, on palms and on genital area.

Here are some of the factors which increase your risks of getting skin cancer:

1.Fair complexion: Low levels of the pigment melanin in skin causes fair complexion. Fair- skinned individuals who have a history of hazel or blue eyes, repeated sunburns and people who have red or blond hair are highly susceptible to developing this form of cancer. Less pigment in skin makes an individual more vulnerable to skin damage from harmful UV radiation.
 
2. Excessive sun exposure: Exposure to the sun may lead to the development of skin cancer, if you don't protect your skin by sunscreen and clothing. Tanning beds and lamps may also increase the risk of developing this type of skin cancer.
                                            
3. High-altitude places: The exposure to sunlight is more intense in areas of high altitude and near the equator. Living at higher elevation also makes you more vulnerable to radiation because the sunlight is strongest there.

4. Moles: People with abnormal moles are at a higher risk of developing skin cancer. These moles are irregular in shape and are larger than normal moles.

5. Precancerous skin lesions: Your risk of developing skin cancer increases if you have skin lesion. These are scaly and rough patches that range from brown to dark pink in color. The most commonly affected areas are head, hands and face of fair-skinned people.

6. Weak immune system: Weak immune system caused by HIV or AIDS and immunosuppressant drugs that you take after an organ transplant may increase your risk of developing skin cancer.

Know If You Are At Risk Of Skin Cancer

Melanoma is a condition which mainly indicates a severe malfunction of the melanocytes or the melanin producing cells of the body. These cells are responsible for giving you your skin colour, tone and complexion. Usually, a person suffering from melanoma will have many normal and irregular moles as well as melanoma in the eye and digestive tracts too.

Some general facts on melanoma are mentioned below:
Melanoma is common in young women and causes many deaths.
More than one million new instances of skin cancer or melanoma are analyzed every year.
There has been a 2000% increase in rate of melanoma since the year 1930. One out of fifty get affected by this cancer.
There has been a high rise in the rate of melanoma from 1970 to 2008. There has been an 800% increase in young women and 400% increase in case of similar aged men.
Early recognition makes melanoma treatable. It is screened for growth very minimally.
Primary causes Melanoma may be caused primarily due to these causes:
The most primary cause of melanoma is ultraviolet light (UV) in people with a low level of skin pigment. The UV light might be from either the sun or from different sources, for example, tanning devices. Around 25% of cases occur from or in the form of moles.
The individuals who work on airplanes seem to have an expanded danger, due to more contact with UV rays.
Ultraviolet UV light of wavelengths between 315 - 280 nm from the sun react with the skin cell DNA and result in a kind of direct DNA harm called cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs).
In order to stay away or avoid melanoma, you should:
Avoid the sun at peak hours.
Examine your skin at times for some kind of change.
Keep away from tanning salons.Melanoma is a dangerous form of cancer and causes a lot of deaths. You should stay away from anything that causes melanoma.


All About Melanoma

Photodynamic therapy or PDT is a relatively new and non-invasive treatment for non melanomaskin cancer. It is mostly used in cases where the cancer is superficial and has not spread too deep. PDT is used mostly to treat Actinic Keratoses on the face and scalp, Basal cell carcinomas, Bowen s disease, as well as other conditions such as head and neck, mouth, lung and gullet cancer.

How does it work?
This treatment involves the use of a drug known as photosensitize or a photosensitizing agent with a specific type of light. When the photosensitizing agents get exposed to a light of a specific wavelength, a form of oxygen is produced, which eliminates nearby cancer cells. Every photosensitizer gets activated by the special light. The wavelength of the light determines how much it can penetrate into the body.

Process of Photodynamic therapy
Skin cancer is cured by PDT in several steps. The first step involves the injection of a photosensitizer into the patient s bloodstream. The blood cells absorb the agent all over the body, but in the cancer cells, it stays for a longer duration. Within 72 hours after the injection is given, the skin is exposed to light. The photosensitizer agent present in the cancer affected cells absorbs the light. An active oxygen form gets produced, which kills the cancer cells.

Other than killing the cancer cells directly, PDT uses two other ways to destroy cancerous tumors. The blood vessels in the tumor are affected, which leads to its death. The immune system also gets charged up and activated for fighting the cancer cells.

The light used for PDT is usually in the form of a laser. LEDs are also used to treat tumors present on the surface of the skin. The primary photosensitizing agent used in PDT is called porfimer sodium or Photofrin.

PDT can be undertaken in the outpatient department in a hospital. After taking the treatment, you have to keep the cancer affected area of the skin dry and covered for 36 hours. The area should be treated with care while showering. In case of thick skin lesions, repeat treatments are required within 4 weeks.

When is PDT used for skin cancer
PDT can be undertaken instead of surgery for treating basal cell cancer, Bowen s disease and actinic keratosis. PDT is used in cases where surgeries are required. It is used to treat large skin cancers, which are not very deep and in the case when several cancers develop in an area. For many skin conditions, PDT is a better remedy than undergoing a surgery.

Advantages of PDT

    There are no long term side effects.
    The process is less invasive compared to surgery.
    A very short time is taken for this therapy to be undertaken.
    The process can be repeated several times in the same area.
    Very less scarring takes place in the affected area.
    The cost of this procedure is lesser than surgery.

Treating Skin Cancer with Photodynamic Therapy

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