Research Paper On Skin Cancer
Cancer is a scary thing. With cancer being the number two killer in the United States, most-likely we all know someone who is fight or has fought the frightening battle with cancer. There are over 100 types of known cancer, and though there are many successful treatments, there is no cure for this deadly disease. Some of the most common cancers include; breast, pancreatic, colon, leukemia, skin, and plenty more. Skin cancer is a cancer that could easily be detected soon, with check-ups and self-examinations, but unfortunately is missed often. Skin cancer has three different branches that include, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma. When a person is young normal body cells grow and divide quickly, but as
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the person ages and grows the cells in the body slow in growth. Cancer starts when abnormal body cells grow at an out-of-control rate, and instead of eventually dying away, like a normal body cell, it continues to grow, ultimately the cells infect other tissues in the body. Melanoma is a cancer that attacks the cells of the skin tissue. A person’s skin is made up of three layers, the epidermis, the dermis, and the subcutis. Melanoma is the abnormal growth of the melanocytes cells, present in the epidermis. These cells are responsible for the coloring, pigment, of the skin known as melanin. Melanin protects the deeper layers of the skin from the damaging effects of the sun’s rays. Due to the melanin in the cells that are affected by melanoma, most melanoma spots are dark in color, brown or black, though they can be without color. Melanoma can be found anywhere on the body but is most-likely to be found on the chest of the back of a person for men, and the legs of a woman. The neck and face are very common places to see melanoma for both men and women. Other areas that can be affected by melanoma include, the eyes, mouth and vagina, though melanomas in these spots are rare. Due to melanoma looking similar to moles or freckles, it can be very difficult to catch if the person is not looking for a spot with cancer. Melanoma can be easy to cure if caught early, but if it is missed, it can spread quickly, unlike basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma.
Melanoma is often seen in white men and woman, rather that black, or Hispanic.
The risk of melanoma in a white person is ten times as high as it is for a black person. White men and women have a 1 in 50 chance of being diagnosed, while a black man or woman have a 1 in 1,000 chance, and Hispanics have a 1 in 200 chance. Melanoma, unlike the other skin cancers, has no age discrimination. It has been seen in people younger than 30 years of age, but it does increase with age. There are many different risk factors for melanoma, which is why it has no age discrimination. Though a person has many risk factors, does not mean that they will end up getting cancer, and vise-versa, if a person has little or no risk factors, that does not mean that they will never be diagnosed. Risk factors for melanoma include; sun exposure, moles, fair skin, freckles, light hair color, a family history of melanoma, a personal history with melanoma, immune suppression, age, gender, and Xeroderma Pigmentosum …show more content…
(XP).
Sun exposure is the biggest risk factor for melanomas, the reason being is due to the ultraviolet (UV) rays.
The UV radiation can damage genes making the risk higher for a melanoma. Tanning beds are also a source that gives off a considerable amount of UV radiation. UV is divided into three categories, which include, UVA rays, which are linked to skin damage, wrinkles, and skin cancers. UVB rays, the second UV is known to cause sunburns and skin cancer. Finally, there is the UVC rays, which do not penetrate the earth’s atmosphere, and are not a risk factor for skin cancer. Skin cancer appears when the UV radiation damages the DNA making it unable to control skin cell
growth.
Moles, otherwise known as nevi (nevus), are benign melanocytic tumors. Moles are not very common on infants, they begin to appear in childhood, most moles will not cause issues, but if a person has a lot of moles, they are at a higher risk for melanoma. A dysplastic nevus commonly looks like a mole, and a little like a melanoma. The difference between a mole and a dysplastic nevus, is the size and color, these nevi are typically larger than moles, they do not have a round shape, and their color is different. Very few dysplastic nevi actually become melanoma, but for people with many, the risk is increased about 10%. These nevi also run in families, for those people who have many dysplastic nevi and a family history of melanoma there risk of being diagnosed with this cancer goes up nearly 50%. A congenital melanocytic nevi are moles that are present at birth. The congenital melanocytic nevi have a greater risk of becoming cancerous over the dysplastic nevi, people born with congenital melanocytic nevi have a lifetime risk estimated to be around 1%-15% greater than those who do not have them. People with a large amount of any nevus should be taught to self examine, and see a dermatologist regularly.
The color of one’s skin can tell a lot about their risk of developing a melanoma. As stated before, white people have a 10x greater risk of developing melanomas over black people. This is due to the protective effect in the pigment found in skin.
the person ages and grows the cells in the body slow in growth. Cancer starts when abnormal body cells grow at an out-of-control rate, and instead of eventually dying away, like a normal body cell, it continues to grow, ultimately the cells infect other tissues in the body. Melanoma is a cancer that attacks the cells of the skin tissue. A person’s skin is made up of three layers, the epidermis, the dermis, and the subcutis. Melanoma is the abnormal growth of the melanocytes cells, present in the epidermis. These cells are responsible for the coloring, pigment, of the skin known as melanin. Melanin protects the deeper layers of the skin from the damaging effects of the sun’s rays. Due to the melanin in the cells that are affected by melanoma, most melanoma spots are dark in color, brown or black, though they can be without color. Melanoma can be found anywhere on the body but is most-likely to be found on the chest of the back of a person for men, and the legs of a woman. The neck and face are very common places to see melanoma for both men and women. Other areas that can be affected by melanoma include, the eyes, mouth and vagina, though melanomas in these spots are rare. Due to melanoma looking similar to moles or freckles, it can be very difficult to catch if the person is not looking for a spot with cancer. Melanoma can be easy to cure if caught early, but if it is missed, it can spread quickly, unlike basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma.
Melanoma is often seen in white men and woman, rather that black, or Hispanic.
The risk of melanoma in a white person is ten times as high as it is for a black person. White men and women have a 1 in 50 chance of being diagnosed, while a black man or woman have a 1 in 1,000 chance, and Hispanics have a 1 in 200 chance. Melanoma, unlike the other skin cancers, has no age discrimination. It has been seen in people younger than 30 years of age, but it does increase with age. There are many different risk factors for melanoma, which is why it has no age discrimination. Though a person has many risk factors, does not mean that they will end up getting cancer, and vise-versa, if a person has little or no risk factors, that does not mean that they will never be diagnosed. Risk factors for melanoma include; sun exposure, moles, fair skin, freckles, light hair color, a family history of melanoma, a personal history with melanoma, immune suppression, age, gender, and Xeroderma Pigmentosum …show more content…
(XP).
Sun exposure is the biggest risk factor for melanomas, the reason being is due to the ultraviolet (UV) rays.
The UV radiation can damage genes making the risk higher for a melanoma. Tanning beds are also a source that gives off a considerable amount of UV radiation. UV is divided into three categories, which include, UVA rays, which are linked to skin damage, wrinkles, and skin cancers. UVB rays, the second UV is known to cause sunburns and skin cancer. Finally, there is the UVC rays, which do not penetrate the earth’s atmosphere, and are not a risk factor for skin cancer. Skin cancer appears when the UV radiation damages the DNA making it unable to control skin cell
growth.
Moles, otherwise known as nevi (nevus), are benign melanocytic tumors. Moles are not very common on infants, they begin to appear in childhood, most moles will not cause issues, but if a person has a lot of moles, they are at a higher risk for melanoma. A dysplastic nevus commonly looks like a mole, and a little like a melanoma. The difference between a mole and a dysplastic nevus, is the size and color, these nevi are typically larger than moles, they do not have a round shape, and their color is different. Very few dysplastic nevi actually become melanoma, but for people with many, the risk is increased about 10%. These nevi also run in families, for those people who have many dysplastic nevi and a family history of melanoma there risk of being diagnosed with this cancer goes up nearly 50%. A congenital melanocytic nevi are moles that are present at birth. The congenital melanocytic nevi have a greater risk of becoming cancerous over the dysplastic nevi, people born with congenital melanocytic nevi have a lifetime risk estimated to be around 1%-15% greater than those who do not have them. People with a large amount of any nevus should be taught to self examine, and see a dermatologist regularly.
The color of one’s skin can tell a lot about their risk of developing a melanoma. As stated before, white people have a 10x greater risk of developing melanomas over black people. This is due to the protective effect in the pigment found in skin.