How can skin cancer kill you?
Skin cancer has become common worldwide and the risk caused by it has increased the number of deaths as well. Millions of people are diagnosed with skin cancer worldwide and a significant amount of them face death. The average number of deaths caused due to non-melanoma skin cancer/keratinocyte carcinoma or melanoma cancer is often predictable but telling individual numbers of death isn't impossible. It's because all the individual deaths don't get registered to the cancer hospitals.
The article below is intended to provide a piece of subtle information about how the skin can lead to your death.
Skin Cancer Death Statistics
The number of squamous cell carcinoma cases or basal cell carcinoma in the United States is around 5.5 million each year.
According to the researchers, women between 25 to 30 years of age are facing death due to melanoma skin cancer at the number 1 position. Women between 30 to 35 years old are facing skin cancer-related death at second number.
The death due to melanoma skin cancer in 2021 is estimated to rise by 4.8% in 2020. This year's data evaluation for exact death rates will be summed up by March of next year, 2022.
The death caused due to the two primary forms of cancer I.e, basal cell, and squamous cell skin cancer are in 2000 each year.
Most of the deaths due to skin cancer reported in the last 7 years have been due to the high absorption of the ultraviolet sun rays.
How can skin cancer kill you?
The total estimated time till you can survive after being detected with any form of skin cancer thoroughly depends on your current health situation, stage of skin cancer, and ongoing treatment. It's being said that often the survival rate of skin cancer patients is considered to be 5 years. These many years of survival are possible in almost 92% of melanoma skin cancer patients. If melanoma skin cancer gets scattered to your different body parts, then the survival rate of patients comes down to 20%.
Liver: Skin cancer is visible not only in the outer skin but it works internally too by occupying spaces at varied body parts. The liver is said to be the chemical factory of our body. All the chemicals of your body are maintained and managed appropriately by the liver. If skin cancer spreads to this area, then there are 80 to 90% chances of dying from it within 1 year.
Blood Vessels: If your skin cancer reaches the blood vessels or stream of blood, then there is no going back. It will run faster than the horse and scatter numerous body parts which at a certain time gets completely incurable. The skin cancer cells can completely damage your blood vessels that are said to be the integral body part. It can further cause excess bleeding. If your brain gets damaged due to this, then you will have a stroke.
Bones: When it reaches your bones, it heavily releases the calcium in your bloodstream. This sudden too much calcium disbalances the amount of calcium required by your body. At this time if the situation gets out of control, then even the systems of the body stop responding. Higher calcium amounts in your body can cause unconsciousness & this might lead to your death. A spongy material in your bone is known as bone marrow & skin cancer cells can badly affect them. Stem cells are the result of it which then further leads to the formation of blood cells. If your bone marrow stays well in a healthy state, then it might lead to problems in forming new WBC's, Platelets & RBCs.
Lungs: If cancer occupies your lungs area, then you will find difficulty in breathing and without breathing you can not survive. It will ultimately lead to death. It leads to the death of healthy lung tissue and due to this, you won't be able to take in the oxygen. This is the most aggressive case where even the world-class best antibiotics stop working in your body.
Digestive System: If your skin acne has reached your digestive system, then the entire system can get blocked in a matter of a few minutes. Due to this, the proper functioning of the digestive system will be interrupted. It can get partly or completely blocked. It hinders the smooth passing of food through your gut muscle. It in turn will lead to the non-absorption of calories and nutrients that are mandatorily required by your body for its proper functioning. In such sets of cases, surgery is the obvious option left to treat the cancer cells. But, even if surgery can't work in special cases, then eating and drinking will be heavily hindered by your body. It can lead to death in 90% of the cases due to blockage.
Factors affecting your skin cancer survival rate
Tumor thickness
Penetration anatomic depth
Stage of skin cancer
Ulceration
Skin cancer cell division
Gene expression
Rate or Mitotic activity
Key Takeaways
Skin cancer can kill you if you leave it untreated for a long time. All these skin cancer damages your Skin's DNA from the roots. This damage can stop the skin cells from breathing and all the ill consequences are visible on your face. You start to get weird spots, itchy marks, patches, moles, etc. Those are the clear signals that it can be cancer cells and an alert that you need to get checked. Skin cancer is often increased by multiplying its growth to a huge number. Once a cancer cell or a skin tumor starts forming, it only multiplies itself in a massive number. That thing is really dangerous and as soon as it gets scattered to your bones, tissues, and other body parts, it becomes difficult for doctors to handle your case. Bringing your case under control is feasible if you start the treatment of skin cancer at an early stage by checking for its symptoms.
Reference
https://www.emedicinehealth.com/ask_how_long_do_you_have_to_live_with_melanoma/article_em.htm