Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that was discovered in 1787 and affected humans since as early as 4th century b.c. A possible cause for this disease is high exposure to ultraviolet light. Surgery is the first choice for treatment, but there also is chemotherapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy. All of these are an attempt to take out the corrupted cancer cells. To avoid develop melanoma you should avoid UV rays by not going to tanning booths wearing a shirt, sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat and also try to stay in shaded areas. Cancer is a disease of the cell cycle because it is not caused by a virus or bacteria it is caused by a problem when copying DNA although an outside factor can influence it. According to dictionay.com empathy
Melanoma is a non-communicable disease and according to the Melanoma Institute of Australia, is a malignant skin cancer that affects thousands of individuals. It is a prevalent and serious non-communicable disease, making it an important issue in Australia. Both a biomedical perspective and sociological perspective must be considered to enable health practitioners to have a deep understanding about melanoma, and thus allow them to develop efficient and effective treatment and prevention methods.
Malignant Melanoma is a type of malignant cancer that affects the melanocytes. A melanocyte produces the pigmentation in our skin and melanin gives us the color to our skin. These cells occur in the skin and can be found in other parts of the body. It is important to realize that melanoma can begin in any part of the body that can contain a melanocyte. Melanoma is considered less common than other skin cancers. It is a cancer that can be very dangerous if not detected early. Although in most cases it is diagnosed in time and can be cured. Many people are diagnosed with this cancer and it is said that 160,000 cases are diagnosed a year. ( ). In men a common site is on their back and for a woman is on their legs.
Melanoma is a very serious type of skin cancer. The cancer starts in skin cells known melanocytes. Even though melanoma primarily affects skin cells, it also can grow in the eyes (uveal melanoma). Melanocytes are made up of melanin, which provides skin color and protects the deeper layers of the skin from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.
In today’s culture, being tan coincides with what is believed to be beautiful. As a result, it is no surprise that in the United States of America, an estimated 922,000 people are currently living with some level of melanoma. Even though the news media and doctors warn people about the risks of too much sun exposure and give information as to how to prevent contracting skin cancer, people are still disregarding this important information and going into the sun for extended periods of time unprotected.
Melanocytes are the cells responsible for the production of melanin, known as the tan or brown pigment produced to protect the skin from harmful sunrays. Melanocytes are located in the epidermis which is known as the first layer of skin. How melanoma skin cancer begins to form is by forming benign tumors. Which is basically a mass of non cancerous cells and have a slower growth rate than a malignant tumor. This is commonly seen as a (nevus) mole, this a form of a benign skin tumor due to melanocytes producing an abundant amount of melanin causing it to collect. Metastatic melanoma can nearly develop anywhere on the skin for males it is on the trunk, chest and upper body, were as for women it is common to see it on the legs. Metastatic can aslo spread through the epidermis and into the
Most forms of skin cancer are found on areas of the body that experience constant exposure to sunlight. The ultraviolet rays in sunlight are one main cause of skin cancer, but artificial sources of UV rays have also been proven to be a contributing factor.
Melanoma skin cancer is often caused by too much exposure to the suns UV rays.
In the final analysis, scientists and doctors have given people many “tips” for avoiding skin cancer. These “tips” can be summarized in the following points . First avoiding exposure to the sun between eleven a.m. and three p.m. At this time, sunlight can be very strong, and wearing tight clothes and hats to cover the face and the neck region. Secondly, using sunscreen during exposure (the best recommended is the one with SPF 15, ) and wearing sunglasses because UV rays are extremely harmful for the eyes. The last advice is that lips must also be protected from UV rays, and that babies under six months must not be exposed to sunlight as much as possible. ( Skin Cancer, symptoms, management and treatment, 2000, P.4).
Cutaneous Melanoma skin cancer is known to be the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Melanoma begins when malignant cancer cells form in the melanocytes. These melanocytes are melanin-producing cells found in the outermost layer of the skin, the epidermis. Increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or tanning beds causes DNA damage that can lead to the proliferation of such cancer cells and eventually form malignant tumors. There are approximately 10,130 deaths associated with melanoma annually. With an increase in skin cancer, specifically melanoma, it is important to understand the types, signs and symptoms, possible treatments, as well as early prevention.
These start commonly to form a mole, which then turn to become cancerous. These types of skin cancers are associated with ultraviolet waves caused by sunlight. This is most common in people who are predisposed to sunburn rather than tan. However, even though this predisposition to ultraviolet rays has been known to cause skin cancer, people still do not take notice of this warning.
Skin cancer is a disease where cancer (malignant) cells are found on the outer layer of the skin (epidermis). The three types of cells found in the epidermis are squamous cells, basal cells, and melanocytes. These cells in time grow to be cancerous. Thus, the three types of skin cancers are squamous cell, basal cell, and melanoma. Melanoma is the most deadliest and destructive type of cancer. (“Skin Cancer” infotrac.com) The number of people with melanoma has risen in Scotland from 3.5 in 1979 to 10.6 per 100,000 in 1998 for men and 7.0 to 13.1 for women. (Miller 945) Squamous cell and Basal cell skin cancer can kill up to 2,200 people a year in the United States. (Sommerfield SIRS.com) Basal cell, being the most common type of skin cancer, is the cancer that about 75 percent of the people have. (“Skin Cancer “ infotrac.com) Melanoma is mostly seen in older men but ever since tanning came in during the 1970’s, it has increased in women 60 percent around the ages 15-29 over the past three decades.(Sommerfield SIRS.com) “And basal cell and squamous cell cancers are increasing at a rate of about 5 percent per year”(Sommerfield SIRS.com).
The patient will also have to undergo surgery to remove the cancer, and the individual will undergo cancer treatment. Melanoma can spread to other parts of the body that are sometimes internal and not visible to the eye. Sometimes a person needs to let their worries fade away for a little bit, and these tanning methods can do that for some people. Tanning helps cope with stress and depression as stated in the text “tanning has been known to improve seasonal affective disorder” which is a type of depression that a person goes through around the same time every year (Banerjee).
The major environmental risk factor for melanoma is overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. People who have fair skin that burns or freckles easily need to be especially careful in the sun as protecting yourself against UV overexposure is an important way you can help reduce your risk of developing melanoma.
Melanoma starts in the melanocytes. Melanocytes are the cells that make the pigment melanin according to (www.skincancer.org). Cancerous growths can develop from UV lights and the sun. A source of UV lights would be tanning bed. These sources caused cells to trigger mutation. The trigger mutations cause genetic defects. Genetic defects leads to skin cell multiply and form malignant tumors.
John Hunter was the first person who discovered the type of cancer called skin cancer. In about two hundred years later, scientists were able to test it and named it “Melanoma”. Rene Laennec, a french physician was the first person who identifies Melanoma as a type of disease. He was considered as the first person who named “Melanoma”. During that time of period, Melanoma was untreatable, there was no medical treatment for it. People were suffering, hoping to have some source of treatment that can cure this weird disease. Henry Oliver Lancaster was the first person who found out that skin cancer is directly related to the sun exposure. In California, people love the sunshine, beach, and tan color skin. However, it can cause skin cancer if we