One of the most common forms of cancer in existence is basal cell carcinoma, which is a form of chance.
skin cancer. It can be an extremely destructive and mildly disfiguring form of skin cancer and the risk of developing this particular form of skin cancer increases greatly for individuals who have a history of the disease in their families. The risk of developing it also increases with increased exposure to sunlight, as sunlight causes exposure to damaging UV light. Carcinogenic chemical exposure such as exposure to arsenic also increases the
Treatment options for Basal cell skin cancer include surgery, mohs surgery, X-ray, cryosurgery, topical chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy. It is very rarely a life threatening form of cancer, but if you do not treat it in time it can become disfiguring. Basal cell skin cancer can also cause bleeding, and can produce destruction on a local level. Local destruction that it can cause includes eye, nose, ear and lip damage, though this damage very rarely spreads further than the origin point of the tumor. However, long standing tumors that are not treated may be able to metastasize into lymph nodes and other surrounding areas, which can cause significant internal damage to bone and nearby tissues in the area where the tumor is growing.
There are numerous different forms of Basal cell skin cancer that are recognized, including Nodular Basal, Cystic Basal, Pigmented Basal, Superficial Basal and finally Sclerosing or Cicatrizing Basal. Nodular forms include flesh colored papules that are known as rodent ulcers when they ulcerate. Cystic forms are rarer and tend to be harder to distinguish in comparison to nodular skin cancers. Pigmented forms are often confused with melanoma cancers. Sclerosis forms present scar like lesions, and superficial forms present with red scaling patches.
Two thirds of all Basal cell skin cancer instances occur on areas of the body that are regularly exposed to the sun. One third of all instances of it on the other hand exist on areas of the body that are not regularly exposed to sunlight, and this fact emphasizes the idea that genetics may also cause it in some patients even if they are not regularly exposing their bodies to the harmful UV light provided by the sun. It tends to present as a firm nodule which clearly grows within the skin that exists above and below it. Basal cell skin cancer does not normally do much growing on the surface of the skin. The colors associated with it vary from normal skin color to black or dark brown, though there is always a pearly or translucent quality to the skin which is a telltale sign that a tumor is forming.
Basal cell skin cancer is not normally a deadly form of skin cancer, though it is still vital that the cancer be treated early to prevent it from becoming disfiguring. When it metastasizes, it can cause quite a bit of damage both above and below the skin, so that even after the cancer is treated, there will still be something left behind even once the it is gone.
