Concerns increase the risk of cancer

Basic cancer treatment consists of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.

These are designed to kill cancer cells, shrink cancerous tumors, and remove tumors or the organs they have overrun. Removing cancer is a good idea so it does not continue to spread. However, nothing is mentioned about stopping cancer at its source so it never recurs. This has encouraged researchers and the public to think “outside the box” to have a better understanding of cancer and the body.

Because chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery for cancer have risks of their own, alternative cancer therapies are highly sought after by a public that is willing to do its homework and find out all that is available. Dr. Ralph Moss has a unique referral service for people interested in researching their options. He has an online information site called “The Moss Reports.”

Spontaneous healings have caught the attention of scientists who have looked for similarities among cancer survivors. The Institute of Noetic Sciences published their findings in a book titled, Spontaneous Remission: An Annoted Bibliography.

Keeping the immune system healthy is one of the most important ways to help the body fight cancer on its own. Under normal circumstances, the immune system prevents damaged DNA from allowing cells to proliferate.

Addressing the above mentioned risk factors is important in keeping the immune system healthy whether or not someone has a cancer diagnosis:

Personal habits: smoking, drinking, drug use, overeating, poor nutrition, little or no exercise, overpowering emotions, negative emotional/behavior patterns, and social/spiritual isolation all stress the body and weaken the immune system

The immune system should not be burdened with unhealthy stimuli since it becomes distracted from the ever important job of destroying cancer cells.

Skin Cancer Information - Early Signs And Types Of Skin Cancer.

The other day, I was taken by the hair coloring of a clerk at the local store. I commented on how beautiful it was, with the dark base and the natural-looking streaks, as if the sun had touched her alone; and we began a conversation of how when we were younger we would not have to use any hair dyes: we just sprayed SunIn on our hair and laid out in the sun for an hour or two. This of course led us to discussing the near impossibility of doing that now, as we have blasted the ozone layer(s) so hard we have created a direct line between us and the harsher (more deadly) rays of the sun (and no, SunIn is a pump spray, not an aerosol, so we didn’t have to go there with culpability and irony and all).

But you probably didn’t come here to read about hair coloring techniques that are sun-free or chemical free, for that matter …at least not specifically. You came looking for information on the different types of skin cancer. The speculation and theory does hold some proof against chemicals in—ahem—health and beauty products; and it does point to the sun’s “damaging rays” as a possible cause, etc., but here, since we aren’t medical professionals, specialist, or experts, the info on the types of skin cancer is going to be basic and absent of finger-pointing, if you will:

There are three types of skin cancer: Basal Cell Carcinoma (a.k.a. non-melanoma skin cancer); Squamous Cell Carcinoma; and Melanoma.

Melanoma (also, Cutaneous Melanoma, Malignant Melanoma) – Cancer cells are growing in the melanocytes, the cells that are responsible for skin pigmentation. According to University of Maryland medicine and other experts, of all of the types of skin cancer, Melanoma is “the rarest and the most virulent….” It is typically found in people with fair skin, light hair, and/or light eyes, though it is possible in others with different complexions, and as the experts above also assert, does not exempt those with dark brown or black skin. Identifiable symptoms contain, most
commonly, a mole changing color, size, shape, or state (starts oozing or bleeding), or a mole that UMM notes “feels itchy, hard, lumpy, swollen, or tender to the touch.”

Squamous Cell Carcinoma—Also called non-melanoma skin cancer, Squamous Cell Carcinoma usually begins as a red-looking, scaly patch or patches of skin, or can appear as nodules. Of the three types of skin cancer, Squamous, affecting Caucasians, usually fair-complected, is the second most common and shows up, typically, on the ears (ear-rims), face, lips, and mouth.

Basal Cell Carcinoma – The second of the types of skin cancer, Basal Cell Cancer, typically starts as a “small, fleshy bump or nodule,” most commonly found on the head, neck, and/or hands. Of the three types of skin cancer, Basal Cell Carcinoma, which is typically found in Caucasians, say those at UMM, make up “more than 90 percent in the U.S..

My mother had the second most common of the types of skin cancer, on her lip, and while we at first teased her that it was herpes, she was smart enough to know it was a “sun blister” and quick enough to catch it by going to a specialist. That’s the good news, to give you hope when you bemoan the loss of days picnicking, swimming, and “bathing” under the wonderful sun.