Melanoma

our skin can resist and repair cuts and burns and many other traumas. Our skin, however, is not invincible and can sometimes fall susceptible to many different diseases and cancers, like melanoma. Melanoma Per Adam Riker, one of the authors of The Epidemiology, Prevention, and Detection of Melanoma, melanoma is the 6th most fatal cancer in the United States, and the second common cancer found in women ages 20 to 29 years old. One of the most common and main causes, UV radiation. The most…

History of Melanoma- Skin Cancer Around the 5th century BC, Hippocrates (was a Greek physician and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine) was the first to record a description of melanoma. He described it as melas, meaning dark, and oma, meaning tumor, in Greek. Although, the term melanoma was introduced in 1838 by Sir Robert Carswell. There is also some study that melanoma is from even earlier before the 5th century. There is some evidence that melanoma…

Melanoma, one of the most prevalent and dangerous types of skin cancer, presents an increasing threat to human health as the incidence of melanoma is growing every year. Not only skin cancer is a threat to public health, but it is also becoming an economic burden to society. American Cancer Society identified that the average per-patient cost for the last stage of melanoma ranges between $34,103 to $152,244 per year in the United States. The survival rates for melanoma differ by its stage: the…

Melanoma incidence has markedly increased in recent decades. It represents 3–5% of skin cancers, but it is responsible for 75% of all skin cancer deaths1. Approximately 10% of melanoma cases report a relative affected with melanoma, and a positive family history is associated with an increased risk of developing melanoma. The heritable (germ line) variants which contribute to melanoma susceptibility vary in terms of risk from common relatively low penetrance genes to rare high penetrance genes1.…

developing melanoma is exposure to sunlight – this can be both from the sun and from the sunbed. The two types of UV radiation that are linked to the increased risk of melanoma are UVA – long wave rays – and UVB – short wave rays, which is mostly emitted from the sun rather than sunbeds. According to Martin Weinstock, a dermatologist from Brown University, ‘Melanoma is not one disease, it’s a collection of diseases’. And each type of disease that causes melanoma has…

The American Cancer Society estimates that skin cancer is the most prevalent of all cancers with over 2 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer each year and 75,000 melanoma cases in 2012**. Melanoma is one of themost serious consequences of skin cancer where melanocytesproliferate actively with enhanced accumulation of melaninpigment leading to hyperpigmentation and tumor formation. Up-regulated levels oftyrosinase enzyme appear to be correlated to with greater production and accumulation of…

however areas not exposed to the sun have the potential to develop melanoma. Melanoma differs from other skin cancers by its appearance and colour as it often has an irregular edge or surface, and is usually a combination of brown, black, blue, red, white or light grey colours. Melanoma has the potential to spread deeper into the skin and metastasise into the lymph or blood vessels to form a secondary cancer if left untreated. Melanoma can be detected by a skin biopsy where a sample of the…

There are many types of skin cancer but the three main types of skin cancer which are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Even though there are three major types of skin cancer this essay will be focusing on Melanoma. Before I can discuss how Melanoma works we have to understand the anatomy of the Skin tissue. In the human body our skin is the protection between the external environment and internal organs. The human body skin can be different in the thickness of the…

Melanoma: Be Aware The human body is a very complex system that often malfunctions. Many people believe that numerous diseases are natural reflections of the body aging and cannot be avoided. Fortunately, for us, that is not always true. The goal of my paper is to change this perception and demonstrate that healthy eating and an active lifestyle can result in a healthy body, at any age. Skin, which is the largest organ in the body and part of the Integumentary System, functions as a…

Skin cancers are a major health issue in the United States, and so far the risk is only increasing. The article “Sunscreen and Melanoma: Is Our Counseling Message Correct?” by Margaret B Planta, submitted in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine November- December 2011 vol. 24 explores issues with counseling on sunscreen usage by practitioners and how the approach may be insufficient and possibly even increase the risk of patients developing malignant skin cancers. In this…