SKIN CANCERS

There are two major groups of skin cancers:

• The melanoma skin cancer (MSC)
• The non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC)

Below, we summarise the main differences between the two major groups of skin cancers.

Melanoma skin cancer (MSC)

This is the cancer of the melanocytes that produces the melanin in the top layer (epidermis) of the skin. Melanoma can appear anywhere on the body, independently of the fact of whether it is covered or sun-exposed. Half of the cases of melanoma appear on pre-existing moles, whereas the other half occur on regular skin.

In early stages, when the melanoma remains within the epidermis where there are no blood vessels, it is unable to spread into distant part of the body. In these stages the simple removal of a melanoma results in 100% cure. It is, however, very difficult to diagnose melanoma because it looks like a normal mole.

In the majority of the cases, melanoma grows very slowly and thus the typical signs of melanoma appear very gradually: changes in size, colour and in shape of moles are symptoms of developing melanoma.

In later stages, when melanoma has reached the deeper layers of the skin (the dermis) where there are blood vessels, it spreads to the distant part of the body. From this moment on, the possibilities of the modern medicine are very limited to save the life of the patient.

That is why mole screening is crucial to identifying early stage melanoma when the patient has no suspicion.

Maybe the most useful aid is the ugly duckling sign: if there is anything on your skin that differs from the rest of your moles in any way (darker, bigger, more asymmetrical or changing), we welcome you to visit the MediSpa and have a consultation with Dr Bela. Call to book: 020 7111 0874

Please note that six people on average die in the UK every day because of melanoma.

The most important risk factors are:

• Sensitive skin, that is prone to burn and hardly tans
• Burning in the sun or tanning salon
• Melanoma in the family history
• High number of moles

Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC)

These are the cancers of the basal or squamous cells of the skin. They appear on the sun-exposed parts of the body. They grow very slowly and either don’t spread to different parts of the body or do so very rarely. The basal cell carcinoma is the most frequent cancer ever: there are more than 100.000 new cases each year in the UK alone. The NMSCs look like a reddish, shiny, non-healing patch on the skin that might bleed.

The most important risk factors are:

• Sensitive skin, that is prone to burn and hardly tans
• Cumulative sun exposure (sun damage of the skin)
• Burning in the sun or tanning salon