Pink Lady » Feed List / Skin Cancer

Jan 06 - Basics of Cancer Treatment #

Hi everyone. Today I want to talk in broad terms about the way in which skin cancer and other cancers are treated. Cancers are made up of abnormal cells that grow rapidly and continue to grow indefinitely, whereas normal cells stop proliferating at a certain point. The main point of treating cancer is to rid the body of these abnormal cells. The most common ways of treating cancer is with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. It makes...

Dec 17 - New Year's Resolutions for Healthier Skin #

As 2008 quickly approaches, you are probably thinking of possible resolutions for the New Year. Along with the usual resolutions of a losing weight and exercising, try adding several that pertain to good skin care. I assure you - these are much easier to stick to than cutting out sweets. It easy to start some new rituals for your skin in 2008 that will help reduce your chances of being diagnosed with skin cancer. An added benefit of my...

Dec 10 - Holiday Vacations Shouldn't be a Vacation from Skin Protection #

The holidays are a time when people go on vacation to escape their usual routine and to get a change of scenery. For many, this includes a trip to the beach to escape the cold winter for a few days. Others may go somewhere colder to ski or take part in other winter sports. Either way - these types of vacations include a lot of outdoor activity, and as a result, they should include a lot of skin protection on your part. Many people feel...

Dec 03 - Amelanotic Melanoma and Subungual Melanoma #

When we talk about melanoma, most people picture an irregular, dark, large mole that has changed over time, and indeed, these characteristics are often symptoms of melanoma. Today I want to talk about two variants of melanoma that are harder to diagnose than those mentioned above. A melanoma that does not have dark pigment is termed an "amelanotic melanoma" and these account for less than 5% of all melanoma diagnoses....

Oct 29 - Signs of Internal Organ Cancer On Your Skin #

Hi everyone. Today I want to talk about growths on the skin that are not necessarily skin cancer, but are related to cancers on your internal organs. Many diseases, such as high cholesterol or diabetes, can have manifestations on the skin. Sometimes, cancer of the internal organs can have skin manifestations as well. I want to briefly touch on a few of these to show how your skin can reflect what is going on inside your...

Oct 15 - Persistant Rash May Be a Form of Cancer #

Hi everyone. Today I want to talk about a type of skin cancer that is different from an abnormal mole or lesion. Moles or lesions can usually be removed surgically. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), however, is a skin cancer that resembles a rash rather than a new abnormal growth. Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is almost like having "leukemia of the skin" in that there is an abnormal proliferation of blood cells that...

Oct 05 - More Skin Cancer Awareness Means More Diagnoses #

Hi everyone. Today I want to talk about the rise in skin cancer diagnoses over the last few years. Many people wonder why the number of skin cancer diagnoses continues to rise despite the increase in our knowledge about proper sun protection. After all, we should be better at preventing skin cancer now than at any other time in the past - one would think that these numbers would be trending downward rather than upward. Estimates from...

Sep 25 - What is Ocular Melanoma? #

Hi everyone. Today I want to talk about ocular melanoma, a type of melanoma that develops in the eye. While melanoma is usually associated with skin cancer, it can arise in the eye and spread to other parts of the body. Ultimatelym it can lead to death without there ever being a strange mole on the skin. Although dermatologists do not examine they eyes for ocular melanoma, we do recommend that any person with melanoma see an...

Sep 06 - HPV Can Cause Skin Cancer, Too #

Hi everyone. We spend a lot of time talking about skin cancers in sun exposed areas. Today I want to talk about a specific kind of skin cancer that is caused by a virus and not sun exposure. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most commonly diagnosed skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma is the most common) and often arises in sun exposed areas. However, it also occurs on the genitals, and this kind of SCC is related to the human papilloma...

Aug 27 - Newly Approved FDA Regulations for Sunscreen Labeling #

Hi everyone. Today I want to talk about the recently publicized announcement by the FDA regarding sunscreen labels. Currently, we all talk about "SPF" levels, because that is the rubric provided by sunscreen companies that indicates how much protection sunscreen provides. "SPF" stands for "sun protection factor" and represents protection against UVB (ultraviolet B rays)....