Why You Should Visit Your Doctor Regularly for Skin Cancer Checks
Compared to other forms of cancer, such as breast, colon, lung, and cervical, skin cancer is said to be the easiest and fastest to treat. However, one out of three people in Australia are diagnosed with skin cancer, and around 1,800 Australians have died of skin cancer in 2017. These statistics show that though skin cancer is said to be easy to treat, the reality is that a lot of people die from it annually leaving many kids and families bereaved. Here are four reasons you should intensify your skin cancer checks.
Cost of Treatment
If you notice a strange patch or spot that won't go away on your skin and visit your GP early enough, it may be easy to detect skin cancer early and start treatment. However, even something as simple as a solar keratosis requires expensive creams that you have to apply for weeks. If the spot is a bit developed, you must have a biopsy, which is not cheap or comfortable. Treating skin cancer can go from a small patch to significant surgery and taking plenty of time off work, all of which will cost you a good amount of money. Early detection can save you thousands of dollars that would otherwise be spent on intensive treatments.
Rate of Spreading
The success of treating any form of cancer depends on how early it is detected and how aggressive it is. Unfortunately, some types of melanoma can spread to other organs in the body, meaning you have to go through surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. The rate at which cancer spreads in your body is the single scariest thing for a patient, and it can lead to many sleepless nights and uncertainty. If you visit the doctor regularly for check-up, they can detect cancer in its early stages and manage it before it spreads to other organs in the body.
Post-Treatment Scars
Many people think that cutting out a melanoma is as simple as it sounds and you go home smiling. Unfortunately, the place where the cancer cell was will be left with an ugly scar and sometimes even uglier keloids. There will be a massive area of missing skin that will always remind you of cancer, and there is still a chance that it will recur. However, with early detection, there may be minimal invasion on the skin during treatment, and this will save you from dealing with large scars afterward.
Anyone can get skin cancer which means it is vital to get checked regularly. Apart from avoiding the sun and all forms of tanning, everyone should learn how to do a skin cancer check at home instead of going to the doctor every week. However, even with regular checks, there are still some forms of cancer that will hide in places you can't see and therefore it's good to see a doctor for a skin cancer check.