Cancer can appear in any part of the human body. Quite often tumors appear also in cells of bones, skin on hands. One of the manifestations of this disease are intense pain and weight loss. In this case, it does not matter which part of the arm or hand is affected. In this article, we will look at finger cancer.
What is a disease?
Cancer is called malignant tumors, which at the initial stage affect cells or skin. It is thanks to these symptoms that cancer can be diagnosed. From the hair follicles, this disease develops as rarely as possible.
The skin is affected at the very first moment. If it is finger cancer, then the bones may also suffer. But in such cases, the tissues around them also suffer. Sometimes bone cancer can occur because tumors in the lungs or other organs of the chest have metastasized.
Reasons
The causes of cancer have not yet been fully determined. But doctors have found that the risks of tumors increase depending on frequent injuries, hereditary factors, inflammatory processes in tissues, exposureultraviolet radiation. Also, tumors can occur due to problems with the immune system.
Cancer of the finger is most often a secondary disease. Often this part of the body is affected due to metastasis of other formations. Sometimes cancer can occur due to constant exposure to chemicals.
Symptomatics
One of the main symptoms is constant pain. When finger cancer occurs, both the hand and all hands can hurt. The intensity depends on the loads.
If the tumor affects the bone, not tissue, then the body temperature may rise. Moreover, if a person does an examination, it will become clear that these symptoms are not an indicator of a cold. The affected finger will constantly swell. Appetite will decrease, respectively, weight will begin to decrease. The patient will be constantly tired. At night, the entire arm may sweat profusely, even if the patient has cancer of the finger, not the entire limb. On palpation of the affected area, a seal will be felt. The skin in this area will change color.
The severity of the symptoms depends on the stage of the disease. At first, when the tumor first appears, there will be no noticeable changes. As soon as the disease passes into the second studio, education will already interfere with the usual life. Since its size will be 8 cm in diameter. Already at this stage, finger cancer will begin to progress. Often metastases appear already during this period.
After the cancer goes into the third degree, they will begin to be affected alreadyhe althy tissue around the bone. In severe cases, metastases spread to distant organs. Lung problems may occur in the last stage.
If finger cancer is accompanied by skin lesions, swelling will occur first. In addition, the tumor process develops in such a way that calcium is gradually washed out of the body. This leads to constant dizziness and nausea. Due to the lack of calcium, the patient may often experience fractures.
In addition, with skin cancer on the finger, body temperature rises, weight decreases and lethargy appears. Dark spots may form on the arm. They can bleed.
Sometimes new moles may appear against the background of blood cancer. This is due to the poor functioning of the immune system.
Skin cancer has 4 stages. At the very beginning, the formation on the finger does not exceed 2 cm in diameter. It can move from side to side. In the second stage, the tumor begins to metastasize, so pain may also occur in other organs. Education increases to 4 cm. The third stage is accompanied by a change in the shape of the tumor. There may be bumps or scales on the skin. Cancer begins to affect the inner layers of the skin, so the formation becomes immobile.
The last stage of finger skin cancer is that both cartilage and bone structures are already affected. Constant pains appear.
Classification
Photos of finger cancer can be seen on specialized forums. But before looking for the right material, you should understand whatthe problem you are interested in. Cancer can take many forms. For example, the disease that affects the bone is considered the most serious. Its name is osteogenic sarcoma. This is the most common type of cancer. It develops quickly, unlike chondroma and chondrosacroma. They have a slow flow.
Malignant tumors that can occur on the skin of the finger are divided into melanoma, basalioma and squamous cell disease. The first occurs due to the degeneration of cells that are responsible for the function of melanin production. Melanomas are spots on the skin.
Basaliomas form in the inner layers of the skin. Plaques may appear, the skin on which peels off. In their center are ulcers.
Squamous cell disease is accompanied by ulcers in the affected area.
Osteogenic sarcoma
Occurs most often between the ages of 10 and 30. Most cases of this cancer occur in men. Toes suffer from this disease 6 times more often than on the hands.
At the initial stages, it is almost not noticeable. This is associated with minimal pain. Already after the tumor begins to capture tissues close to it, the symptoms will become stronger. The bone thickens visually. There is severe pain on palpation. At night, the discomfort is so strong that it is difficult to remove them even with the help of analgesics. The disease progresses rapidly, it affects not only the dermis, but also grows in the muscles, gives many metastases that can enter the lungs and brain. They fall into other bonesrare.
Melanoma
As described above, this is a cancer that develops in the layers of the skin. Most often, melanoma appears from a nevus. Metastases that this formation starts up spread with the help of lymphatic vessels. Accordingly, the lymph nodes are the first to be affected. Over time, the liver, lungs, bones, and brain suffer.
The person may experience itching of the affected part, discoloration of the skin, change in the shape of the mole, bleeding, the appearance of knots.
Basalioma
Unlike melanoma, which occurs on the top layer of the skin, basalioma affects the basal layer. Often occurs in the hair follicles, spreading further. May appear due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation or ions, carcinogens. Gender is unimportant, with regard to age, it most often occurs after 50 years. It is rare in children. On the finger, this disease develops extremely rarely.
Squamous cell carcinoma
This type of cancer also occurs on the skin. Manifestations are different, but most often one of the symptoms of the disease can be called wounds that cannot heal for a long time. Sometimes the tumor can be covered with scales, in some cases it passes into a node. In general, no matter how it looks in the initial stages, it always eventually turns into an ulcer and affects the surrounding tissues. The prognosis is favorable, but only in cases where treatment is started in the initial stages and is chosen correctly. It must be remembered that this type of cancer also metastasizes. It occurs on the fingers as often as sarcoma. With the allocation of metastases, the overall survival up to 5 years is about 30%, outsidedepending on whether treatment is being given.
Diagnosis
It is important for a doctor to know the symptoms of finger cancer that a patient has. It is thanks to them that the disease can be quickly diagnosed. If there is a suspicion of problems with the fingers, then first of all the doctor should conduct an examination. In addition, palpation of the entire limb and lymph nodes is performed. You need to take a blood test to be sure that the formation is malignant.
If the finger bone is affected, then X-rays and tomography are done. To finally confirm the diagnosis, some material is taken from the formation for its analysis and a histological examination is carried out.
Treatment
On the images in the article you can see the beginning of the development of cancer of the finger. The photos were taken in the first stages of the disease. It is at this time that you need to start treatment. Which method will be chosen depends entirely on the condition of the patient, his characteristics (age, general he alth, body weight), as well as the stage of the disease and its manifestation.
Most often, at the very beginning, experts recommend taking cytostatics. That is chemotherapy. They are necessary in order to temporarily slow down the process of tumor development. The same drugs are prescribed for those patients who already have metastases in nearby organs.
After the course of treatment with cytostatics is completed, an operation should be performed. As a rule, by this time the symptoms of finger cancer are either minimized or completely gone. During the operationthe affected area, the tumor itself, and some he althy tissue are removed to reduce the risk of recurrence. The specialist tries not to damage the muscles and tendons, which will allow further use of the finger.
If the cancer has affected the bone, then it is removed completely. Thanks to the latest technology, you don't have to completely remove your finger. An implant is placed in place of the bone. If possible, he althy tissue is transplanted from other parts of the body. The finger is removed only in the most advanced cases.
Radiotherapy is performed after the operation. This method has low efficiency, so it is not used without surgery. Thanks to this type of therapy, it is possible to remove those affected cells that are not removed during the operation for any reason.
If a patient has melanoma, then cryosurgery is used. It involves exposure of the affected area to low air temperatures, which leads to the fact that the tumor itself dies.
Complications
Be sure to pay attention to the photo of skin cancer on the finger. No one is immune from it, given that this part of the brush cannot be protected from ultraviolet radiation. Remember the fact that although this disease may not seem serious, since it is "just" a finger, without treatment, the person will still die. Less serious complications include either loss of sensation in this part of the body, or its amputation.
Forecast
Regardless of what kind of finger cancer you have - on the leg (the photo of the disease is available in the article) or onhand, with timely treatment, 90-95% of people live 5 years, some longer.
If the disease began to be treated at the second stage, this figure is reduced to half. If there are already metastases, then only 30% of people survive. If the disease is severely neglected, then death occurs in 80% of cases.
Preventive measures
Unfortunately, there are no 100% measures that will completely protect against cancer. This is due to the fact that the reasons why cells are reborn and become dangerous to humans have not been identified.
But you can still reduce the risks. Avoid traumatic situations, minimize sun exposure to the skin. If any signs appear, such as a lump under the skin, then consult a doctor. Constant aching pain with no visible signs is also a reason to go to the hospital.
Skin cancer on the finger, the photo of which is presented in the article, is an extremely unpleasant disease, like all other types of problems. Therefore, do not waste time and contact specialists in time.
