The most common type of cancer is skin cancer. It affects the greatest number of people worldwide, and the rate that it affects people is steadily on the rise. The good news is that skin cancer is one of the cancers with the highest remission rates. Patients can easily conquer skin cancer to lead happy, healthy, long lives. The success rate of skin cancer stems from early detection.
Importance of Early Detection
There is a direct correlation between the number of cancerous cells in a person’s body and how difficult it is to eradicate them. As cancer sits untreated, it rapidly grows. This means the number of cancerous cells in a person’s body rises exponentially until the affected person’s immune system can no longer stop this rapid growth. This leads to sickness and when there are enough cells, the spread of cancer throughout the body. Most cancers that spread to the entire body have an incredibly low remission rate, and can often be diagnosed as terminal.
Early detection becomes important with skin cancer because it can stop malignant cells before they spread. This drastically improves a patient’s chances of survival.
The other thing to understand is that a small concentration of cancer cells means that simpler and less intensive treatment options are available. Some skin cancers can be removed by surgery alone while others may require significantly less chemotherapy or radiation than more advanced stages might.
This means that the patient’s body has to undergo less stress, which makes recovering from and fighting cancer easier on the body. This leads to higher treatment success rates.
Who Should Check for Skin Cancer?
Individuals at risk for skin cancer should regularly check for it. This simple, preventative step may help to increase a person’s odds of beating cancer by way of early detection.
If you have a history of cancer or someone in your family has a history of it, then you should schedule an exam to check for skin cancer regularly. You should also opt for exams if you are or have been a smoker, if you have prolonged exposure to the sun, or if you have a weakened immune system.
How Can Skin Cancer Be Detected?
Skin cancer can be detected through a series of visual examinations. Your doctor can then take a biopsy of any potentially cancerous lesions on your skin to verify that they are cancerous. Keep in mind that this verification can only occur in the lab. Lesions that may appear odd on your body do not necessarily represent skin cancer, just as some normal lesions can be cancerous.
Beating Skin Cancer
Early detection is the key to beating most types of cancer. Skin cancer is no exception to this rule. By opting for regular examinations, you will significantly improve your odds of beating skin cancer. You may even be able to avoid it completely by having precancerous skin lesions removed before they become cancerous.
Dr. Spurlin and our highly trained medical staff at Pinnacle Dermatology will be able to answer any questions or concerns you might have about skin cancer and what you can do to detect it. Call us today to schedule a consultation so we can set you on the right path.
