The drastic increase in the demand for the treatment of skin diseases in recent years results not only from the increased awareness of patients and greater care for the skin, but also from the increase in neoplastic changes caused by greater exposure to the sun. More and more people not only spend their holidays but also cool autumn and winter days basking in the country abroad. The number of trips to African countries, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, where the solar radiation is greater and the complications associated with high exposure to the skin, are also more and more frequent.

About a few percent the number of skin cancer patients is increasing every year. Currently, every second patient with advanced melanoma dies, although its curability is 98%. The awareness of the fight against breast cancer is growing, but unfortunately still extremely dangerous and his silent brother is still neglected:skin cancer.- Over the last few years we have noted a significant increase in the incidence of skin cancers, including melanoma, which is the most serious type of skin cancer. Moreover, these changes appear in an increasingly younger group of patients. In the past, people aged 60-70 were ill. At the moment,melanomasappear even in patients in their 20s and 30s. This is a huge problem, because too late diagnosis of melanoma is almost a sentence for a sick patient. - says Dr. Tadeusz Pająk, head of surgery at Łubinowa 3 Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital in Katowice.

Melanoma does not have to be black

More than half of Poles die because the diagnosis is made too late and, consequently, the proper treatment is started too late. In addition to the lack of knowledge about the disease, many months of queues to specialists or fees are to blame, which, unfortunately, not everyone can afford. However, the sooner the disease is caught, diagnosed and properly treated, the lower the percentage of deaths will be. The curability of quickly detected and properly treated melanoma, which is the mostmalignant skin cancerand does not necessarily have to be black, because it can also be discolored, is close to 100%. However, just observing your body at home is not enough. The fact that our birthmark or mole does not change color, fades, grows or bleeds - does not mean that nothing bad is happening and we aresafe. More important than its external changes is whether it does not penetrate deep into the skin. From the outside, it may look the same from birth, but inside it, there may be changes that are dangerous for us, which later testify to metastases and further consequences. - With the development of the disease and the infiltration of diseased cells into the deeper layers of the skin, the curability decreases and decreases to 30-40%. This shows how important is the time of detecting the disease and the moment of starting the treatment process - says Dr. Pająk, who specializes in skin cancer and breast diseases.

Who is at risk of skin cancer problems?

  • People with previously diagnosed skin cancer,
  • People with fair skin and sunbathing without proper skin protection with sunscreen,
  • People who are exposed to solar radiation due to their profession, e.g. fishermen,
  • People who are exposed to chemicals or work in an environment with many different chemical compounds that have a carcinogenic effect, e.g. in steel mills, mines, etc.
  • People who work outdoors, but also come into contact with various hazardous chemicals, e.g. farmers, road workers.
  • People who are genetically predisposed to suffering from skin cancer because they simply have many different pigmented marks, e.g. moles.

When should moles and other moles on the skin worry us?

  • if birthmarks get bigger, they start to grow
  • change their color to a different color, e.g. black or even discolor and the previously intense birthmarks begin to fade
  • are convex, above skin level
  • start to bleed or ooze other secretions
  • hair starts to grow out of them.

Czerniak - how to recognize

Important

There is no immediate period between sunlight, the onset of changes, and the pathological effect. The effects of tanning may not appear until several or several years later. That is why everyone should be under the constant control of a dermatologist, as well as going to the dentist or having a prophylactic x-ray of the lungs.

Category:

Oncology