Skin Cancer Early Stages
Receiving a diagnosis that you have skin cancer is usually taken very hard. You probably do not know what you can do next as decisions hare hard to make in such an unnerving time. Luckily, the chance of you surviving skin cancer is usually very good as long as it was detected early.
When you catch skin cancer early, you can have it removed and stop the cancer before it has a chance to take hold. Be sure to be pro-active about keeping skin cancer at bay. When you find it early on, you have a good chance of defeating it.
During the initial phases of skin cancer you will learn if you have a non-melanoma or a melanoma skin cancer. The beginning stages for these two cancers carry a very good prognosis for survival. It is quite uncommon for a basal cell carcinoma to advance past the second stage so the prognosis is excellent if this is the form of skin cancer you’re dealing with.
Being diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer it can be scary. The good news is with early detection the stage I and stage II survival rate is very good, almost 100% for 5 years. However, if it’s found at stage 3 the survival rate drops to 60%. This stresses the importance for early detection, as it’s the biggest cure for melanoma skin cancer.
It is very important that you do a self exam at least once a month. See your physician regularly and be sure that a skin check up is included in your regular physical. Anytime you notice any suspicious lesions on your skin, be sure to see your doctor right away. If a mole or discoloration begins to change in color or shape, be sure to get to your doctor quickly.
If you have a wound that doesn’t heal, be sure to let your doctor know about it. Ask your doctor what melanoma skin cancer looks like. Armed with this knowledge, you will know what to look for when you do self exams. It is important that you be able to identify any skin cancer you find.
In its early stage, skin cancer can be quite small. The average size is that of a pea. However, skin cancer will grow progressively larger. If left untreated, it will metastasize to other organs and progress throughout the body. As this happens, rate of survival drops exponentially. The more involved the cancer, the more involved methods of treatment become.