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Information on Melanoma Cancer

Friday, April 9, 2010 6:56:00 PM Posted by Cancer Centers

Melanoma can be sporadically spotted in children and young people. The cancer generally grows in an already existing mole or a new mole that appears on the skin. Men commonly get melanomas on the area between the hips and the shoulders, the neck or the head. Women, on the other hand, contract the disease mostly on the arms of the legs. In exceptional cases, it can grow in body parts that are not covered by the skin, such as mouth, eyes, large intestines or vagina. Melanoma can be cured if diagnosed early. Unlike other types of skin cancer, however, it can rapidly reach other parts of the body through the lymph system or the blood.

Melanoma is a skin disease. Cancerous cells are produced in the melanocytes, cells that are responsible for skin color. Melanocytes, in the skin, are also found in other parts of the body, like the eyes. A majority of documented melanoma infection originates in the skin. It is a skin cancer. Melanoma is also known as malignant melanoma or cutaneous melanoma. According to scientific research on melanoma, an exposure to ultraviolet radiation is a major cause.

Dermatologists often debate on the association of sunlight with melanoma.
Melanoma treatment in the beginning of the disease itself. There are various methods to treat melanoma. The methods are surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and palliative care. A good way for melanoma treatment is surgery. Here the tumor is removed and so also is a tiny region from the skin which is normal. In the beginning stage just a biopsy can cure melanoma. After a surgery a skin grafting is done if necessary to cover the wounded part of the skin. After this melanoma treatment painkillers would be given in order to reduce the pain. It will take some time for the wound to cure and the skin grafting to look normal as any other part of the skin.

Melanomas are divided into four groups. The fourth form of melanoma is invasive from the beginning. The most common type of melanoma is superficial spreading melanoma. The maximum number of cases reported, are cases of superficial spreading melanoma. It occupies the top layer of the skin for a long time before becoming invasive. Lentigo maligna is an invasive form of melonama. It affects the top layer of the skin for a long time before going deeper. It mainly affects the older age group. Due to a constantly exposure to the sun, this condition occurs in the ears, arms and upper trunk.

Scientists were working on a group of mummies when they noticed deformities in their skin. It was determined that these mummies did have some type of malignant melanoma. The first operation related to melanoma occurred in 1787 by a man named John Hunter. The tumor that was removed from the skin was preserved in the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Upon examination and testing it was concluded that the mass was in fact a form of metastatic melanoma.

Melanoma Treatment and The Arsenal against a Fatal Disease
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and has been spreading like wild fire over the last decade. Melanoma treatment may take the form of surgery, chemotherapy in early stages, and biological or radiation therapies in extreme cases.

Melanoma takes on four forms. Both superficial spreading melanoma, the most common form accounting for 70% of all melanoma cases and lentigo maligna begin as flat or elevated irregularly shaped tan, brown or black patches.

Both these forms of skin cancer begin as localized tumors, but left untreated, they penetrate deeper and spread to other parts of the body. Acral lentiginous melanoma is a superficial melanoma common amongst Asians and African-Americans.

Nodular melanoma is the most severe form, beginning as invasive cancer and when malignant, shows a lump. It accounts for 10-15% of melanoma cases. Melanoma can be prevented by reducing the sun exposure, especially between 10am and 4pm with adequate clothing and sun blocks with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. Children are vulnerable to sunrays and it has been proved that juvenile sunburns greatly increase the risk of adult melanoma.

Melanoma remedy is most effective in the early stages. Typical melanoma moles are lop-sided with irregular borders. Advanced melanoma moles have swellings, oozing, itching or bleeding.
Melanoma remedy varies according to the progression of the disease. Actinic Keratoses or sun damage leading to skin cancer can be treated by laser resurfacing, TCA peel skin peels or the application of Efudex cream.

In the early stages, surgery to remove the tumor and the adjacent healthy tissues is effective enough to destroy the metastatic cancer cells. The amount of tissue removed depends upon the spread of the cancerous growth.

Surgical melanoma remedy may also involve a skin graft to replenish the lost tissues. If the melanoma spreads to the lymph nodes, surgery may also involve removal of these.
Advanced melanoma treatment includes chemotherapy. This either involves the use of cancer drugs in capsule form or intravenous injections to kill the cancer cells.

Biological and radiation therapies are the last bastions of melanoma treatment. In the former, laboratory-generated cancer-combating substances called biological response, modifiers (BRMs) like tumor vaccines, interleukin-2, or interferon-alfa are administered to the melanoma patient.

Radiation therapy involves the use of x-rays to destroy cancer cells that have spread throughout the body. This form of melanoma treatment can last several sessions. Its side effects include topical redness, dryness and rashes, which disappear over time. However, changes in skin color and texture may occur after a few years. Melanoma treatment should be undergone only under strict medical guidance to ensure complete remedy and prevent a recurrence.



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