Monday, January 11, 2010

Skin Cancer Early Stages - Find Out What Are the Skin Cancer Early Stages

By William Wallace

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 are hard to make in such an unnerving time. Luckily, the chance of you surviving skin cancer is usually very good as long as it is detected early.

It is important that skin cancer be caught early enough to begin removing the skin cancer or stopping it in its tracks. You must do your part to catch your skin cancer. Early stages are your best chance to beat it.

In the first stages of skin cancer you will find out whether you have a non-melanoma skin cancer or a melanoma skin cancer. Early stages for both of these have a very good prognosis for survival. A basal cell carcinoma is very rarely spread beyond a second stage so the prognosis is very good if this is the type of skin cancer that you have.

If it is not stopped, melanoma skin cancer will advance rapidly past stage I and into stage II. That is why it is important to take immediate steps if you have a diagnosis of melanoma. If it is detected during stage I or II, melanoma has an almost 100% survival rate over five years. If detected at stage III, the survival rate decreases to sixty percent. This is quite a drop and makes it clear that early detection makes a big difference in success of treatment of melanoma skin cancer.

It's absolutely imperative to inspect your skin on a regular basis at least once every month for signs of skin cancer. You should also see a physician regularly so that your skin can be examined as a part of your routine physical. If you detect anything suspicious on your skin you need to get it inspected by a doctor right away, especially if you have a discoloration or mole that seems to be changing shape and or color.

If you have a wound that will not heal, it could possibly be melanoma. Check with your doctor as to what to look for when conducting a self inspection of your skin. Knowing what to look will make it a lot easier to report any condition that may be of concern.

When skin cancer first appears, it averages about a pea-sized growth, it steadily grows larger and can spread to other organs or tissue throughout the body. At this point, removal and treatment becomes difficult and the risk of death increases.

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