Monday, March 31, 2008
Skin Cancer Cure
Cancer has proved to be a difficult disease to cure, and this applies to many forms of cancer, including skin cancer. The most serious form of cancer is malignant cancer. It is almost always fatal if not detected early and treated. It is characterized by the ability to grow and divide at an abnormal rate, to destroy healthy cells around it and to spread to other parts of the body. Benign cancer is different because it does not spread and thus it can be treated effectively. Cancer occurs when the body is exposed to a carcinogen or because of some hereditary reason. This is partly why it is almost impossible to cure cancer as it is essentially the mutation of the body's cells by some external force like radiation in the case of skin cancer. Consequently much research into cancer has focused on detection and treating of cancer. The same applies for skin cancer. Although there is not a definitive cure for skin cancer there are a number of treatments that are highly effective in eradicating the disease from the body.
Common treatments for skin cancer involve freezing the cancerous cells or cutting them away from the body. In the case of a benign cancer like basal cell carcinoma this could be seen as a cure as it stops the cancer at that location. However continued exposure to the sun could cause other benign cancers to appear at different parts of the body. They could also be cut away.
Malignant cancers, like melanoma are also treated by using liquid nitrogen or by cutting out in the early stages. However it is not always clear whether all the cancerous cells have been removed and they could continue to develop and spread.
Unfortunately, none of these skin cancer removal techniques can really be considered a cure. Liquid nitrogen may not penetrate deeply enough to kill all of the cells - allowing the cancer to come back, and even surgery may leave a rogue cell or two behind, also allowing the cancer to return. Thus while skin cancer treatments are not really a cure for skin cancer they are highly effective. They are also easy to do and can be completed within 30 minutes to an hour depending on the type of cancer.
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