How is skin cancer treated? how common is skin cancer?
Skin cancer can manifest at any time in my form. Worldwide, Americans are under the greater trap of skin cancer problems. Skin cancer can happen in the form of squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma skin cancers. Although, melanoma is the rarest form of skin cancer and was seen only in 1 % of the cases. Yet, it is the most dangerous of all types of skin cancers. It's also said that if this is detected in the initial cases then the survival rate due to this type of skin cancer is almost 99%. That's why reaching out to the pathologists and other skin cancer specialists at the initial stages of skin cancer is highly important, else you might get sick to a level where you may die.
The article below is going to help you with all the necessary details regarding the skin cancer available treatment options.
How common is skin cancer?
Skin cancer risk is more common than you think. The facts below will reveal the commonality of the skin cancer problem -
Almost 1 out of every fifth person is expected to develop skin cancer in America when they reach 70 years of age.
The second highest common skin cancer is Squamous cell carcinoma worldwide.
Having more than five sunburns can amplify your chances of developing melanoma skin cancer.
American researchers have noticed that on average two people die after every 2 hours due to skin cancer.
More than 3.6 million Americans are at risk of facing Basal cell carcinoma skin cancer every year.
More than 1.8 million Americans are at risk of facing Squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer every year.
As per each month's record, more than 5,400 people die because of nonmelanoma skin cancer across the world.
From the year 2000 till 2013, the Merkel cell carcinoma skin cancer showed the biggest amount of rising. It is one of the rarest yet aggressive forms of skin cancer.
How is skin cancer treated?
Based on your skin cancer type, various treatments are available.
Targeted therapy
The targeted therapy generally takes various drugs or other sorts of substances. The major aim of this therapy is to target the various areas of skin where cancer cells are present. It is widely used in treating skin cancer diseases. It is so because the disastrous side effects caused by it after the treatment are much lower in comparison to the other kind of skin cancer treatment therapies like radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a form of therapy that utilizes a high amount of radiation or X-rays of high energy for assassinating the cancer cells from your body and further stopping them from dividing up into multiple layers. In case of the external radiation therapy, a machine is used outside of your body to pass on the radiation at the inner side of your body. The basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are treated using this type of skin cancer treatment therapy option.
Photodynamic therapy
Photodynamic therapy is a way to treat skin cancer. It does so by using two main essential ingredients I.e, a light, and a drug. In this type of skin cancer therapy treatment, a light ray is poured over the drug to make it reactive. Furthermore, this drug is injected into the body of a person. This particular drug collects more cancer-producing cells and the least amount of other cells. You can also expect the actinic keratoses to get treated using the Photodynamic therapy treatment.
Surgery
Surgery is used to treat extreme level skin cancer problems. It can be done in the form of Laser surgery, Curettage and electrodesiccation, Dermabrasion, Cryosurgery, Simple excision, shave excision, and Mohs micrographic surgery. These therapies include cutting, fixing, stitching, etc kind of procedures. Based on the type of skin cancer you are going through, the right kind of skin cancer surgery will be applicable in your case.
Chemical peel
A chemical peel therapy is generally taken into account for bringing the best changes to your physical appearance. In this therapy, a chemical is poured into the outside layer of your skin which is further absorbed by the inner layers of your skin. It kills most of the cancer-producing cells from your skin. It is mostly used for treating actinic keratosis.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a form of treatment to stop the cancer cells' growth with the help of the drugs. It operates in a way where it eliminates the cancer cells from the roots or it stops them further from dividing. It is more commonly used in the cases of BCC and SCC where a skin lotion is applied in the skin area. A drug named Topical fluorouracil (5-FU) is most commonly used for this purpose.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy skin cancer treatment is a process of treating skin cancer by utilizing the immune system of the suffering patient. This kind of treatment is also known as a biologic therapy treatment. Here, various substances are developed in the labs that are further used to build up your immune system. These substances act as natural defenses to the body for fighting against skin cancer. It has various forms like Topical imiquimod therapy, Immune checkpoint inhibitors, Interferon, etc to treat skin cancer.
Key takeaways
Skin cancer is the biggest form of cancer whose symptoms should not be avoided at any cost. If you come under this trap of skin cancer, then reaching out to skin cancer specialists is quintessential to saving your life. You do need to worry at all, just educate yourself well at the earliest to detect these signs or else run to the doctor to take his advice on these prevailing issues. Even the worst cases can be rectified if treated on time with advanced treatment techniques. It includes Chemotherapy to radiation therapy etc. Make sure to be alert and active enough to do everything and get the right valid treatment as prescribed by your specialist.
References
https://www.cancer.gov/types/skin/patient/skin-treatment-pdq