One of the favorite sites of skin cancer is the face. This is due to the abundant network of blood vessels, the direct effect of insolation, which is a favorable condition for malignant growth. Any signs of facial skin cancer of the initial stage, the photos of which are below, require a detailed study for an early correct diagnosis, on which the patient's life will depend.
This pathology occurs more often than others, since this area of the skin is most exposed to sunlight, because it is it that is almost constantly open at any time of the year. Also, chemicals, dirt, dust, soot, harmful atmospheric gases settle on the skin of the face. People living in hot areas and neglecting to wear hats are more susceptible to skin cancer. Avoiding sunscreen can also contribute to skin cancer.
Let's try to figure out what skin cancer looks like on the face and how to deal with it.
Reasons
One of the causes of facial skin cancer may be congenital pathologies that also weaken the immune systembody, the fight against viruses becomes less effective.
One of these factors is fair skin: the epidermis (outer layer of the skin) of white people contains less pigment (melanin), which significantly reduces skin protection from ultraviolet radiation.
Having a lot of sunburn increases the chance of skin cancer. Most people who have a large number of nevi (birthmarks) tend to be more likely to get skin cancer. Cancer risk can be inherited from direct relatives.
The chance of developing facial skin cancer is higher in smokers with a fairly long history and those taking drugs that weaken the body's immune system, in the elderly, as well as in those who suffer from Bowen's disease and other skin diseases, in people with erythroplasia of Queira.
Symptoms
There are two types of signs of skin cancer on the face (photo above) - early and late. In order to contact a specialist in time, it is better to know both.
Early symptoms
Early symptoms of facial skin cancer in women and men include:
- Formations on the face that weren't there before. These may be new moles, reddish spots, or some irritated areas of the skin that do not heal for a long time. Existing moles behave in an unusual way - they change their color, become inflamed, secrete an ichor.
- The appearance of knots on the skin. As a rule, suchnodes can have different colors - black, white, red, purple.
- Loss of pigmentation in certain areas of the face.
- The appearance of a tumor, even a small one.
Late symptoms
Late symptoms of facial skin cancer (photo attached in the article):
- Change in the size of age spots (moles, nevus). As a rule, changes are observed within a few months.
- The mole, which was always even, has become asymmetric. The contours of the mole lose sharpness and look blurry.
- Changing the surface of a mole. The stain brings discomfort - itches, tingles.
- In addition to the above symptoms, flat skin lesions with a scaly surface and a hard crust may appear. There is a risk that such a lesion is malignant.
General symptoms
There are also common symptoms that may indicate that something is going wrong in the body. This is:
- Persistent fatigue.
- Periodic jumps in body temperature.
- Weight loss.
- Decreased appetite.
- It is important to always take care of your body, and especially the formations on the skin and their changes, because they can be a great threat to life.
If there is at least one symptom of the above, it is recommended to immediately consult a doctor, undergo a thorough examination. Perhaps there is nothing to worry about, but it is better to check with a specialist.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis should be started immediately afterdetection of growth on the skin of the face. First of all, a visual inspection by a specialist is required. Currently, dermatoscopy has become widespread (examination of the skin of the face using a magnifying device - a dermatoscope). This is a fairly simple technique in its execution, which has great diagnostic value in early diagnosis.
Signs that may indicate malignant growth, according to the results of dermatoscopy:
- Educational asymmetry.
- Uneven coloring (alternating dark and light areas).
- Hyperemia of the skin (presence of minimal inflammatory changes).
- Uneven (hilly) surface of the formation.
There are different types of dermatoscopy:
- Traditional dermatoscopy (using a magnifying instrument) - real-time examination.
- Photodermatoscopy (digital, electronic dermatoscopy), which allows you to take a picture and then observe the progress or regression of malignant growth in the dynamics.
- Computerized dermatoscopy (using a video dermatoscope).
The next step in the diagnosis is a cytological study (study of the cellular composition of the formation to determine the degree of atypia): cell samples from the surface of the tumor are obtained using a smear - imprint.
Histological examination, which everyone is so afraid of, just allows you to determine whether it is malignant or benign growth. It is carried out by taking a biopsy from the node with further sectioning.
Biochemical examination methods: determination of tumor markers.
Instrumental diagnostics: to exclude or confirm metastatic lesions of other organs.
Remember! Self-examination is a guarantee of early detection of atypical growth. Examine the skin of the face and other areas in front of the mirror every month, thus you can protect yourself.
Stages of facial skin cancer
Oncological diseases, including cancer of the epidermis, develop in several stages, which are combined in the stage of the pathological process. There are five of them in total:
- 0 - the initial stage, facial skin cancer (this is also visible in the photo) is manifested by the appearance of subcutaneous formations that are more like acne or wen. They are painful on palpation. Small in diameter, up to 0.5 cm, and do not cause significant inconvenience.
- 1 - characterized by the formation of small papillomas with a diameter of no more than 2 cm. The tumor is mobile, not metastasized, but manages to hit the deep layers of the skin. Timely therapeutic intervention at this stage leads to a 100% favorable outcome.
- 2 - tumor-like processes become larger and reach a volume of 4 cm. Metastasis at this stage of the disease is a rarity. Nevertheless, doctors can detect some elements - precursors of the root strengthening of cancer cells, which are located in the main lymph node. The appearance of such a process indicates the imminent start of intensive care.
- 3 - the tumor starts activelystrengthen in the patient's body, affecting the lymphatic and lymphatic drainage systems. The pain syndrome becomes a constant companion of the development of the pathological process. In addition, other symptoms of inflammation are added - a rise in body temperature, deterioration in general condition, thermal discoloration of the skin, cough, difficulty swallowing.
- 4 - the final stage of the disease is characterized by deep tumor metastasis, connection to the cancer process of all major life support systems, painful changes in many internal organs, septic lesions of the superficial and deep layers of the skin, temperature crisis - fever, respiratory failure, heart rhythm disturbance.
Burdening is also caused by multiple changes in the bone-cartilaginous, ligamentous apparatus. The nerve fiber, including several pairs of SMNs, also ceases to function, conducting an infection along its own lines. The apogee of the disease state is the gradual withering of the patient and his inevitable death. Intensive therapy gives results only up to the 4th stage of the oncological process. The subsequent outcome of radiation therapy and other medical practices cannot be predicted.
Treatment methods
Improvement of equipment for the treatment of cancer patients is one of the priorities in the policy of the state and he althcare of the Russian Federation. This is due to a sharp increase in the number of seriously ill patients who cannot receive qualified medical care in district centers and staterehabilitation institutions due to lack of places, narrow specialists. Therefore, today, as an emergency measure to provide emergency medical care to people with cancer, additional places have been created in private clinics. Patients are served under a medical policy, paying only the cost of drugs during the rehabilitation period.
What can private he althcare oncologists offer?
The following treatments for facial skin cancer are offered:
- High-precision surgery to remove a tumor on any part of the face, body. The most effective are the operations that were performed in the early stages of the development of the disease. Skin cancer on the face is removed using a laser knife with further cauterization (electrocoagulation) and scraping of the remnants of the neoplasm (curettage). In the event that the tumor has metastasized and affected not only the upper and middle integument of the epidermis, but has strengthened in the deeper layers, absorbing subcutaneous fatty tissue, the patient is prescribed micrographic surgery using the MOHS (Mohs) method. Using a laser scalpel, the surgeon removes the entire affected area, giving the finished material for expert evaluation by histologists. As soon as the clinical specialists confirm the complete removal of cancer cells, the procedure is declared over. Further, plastic contour surgery is prescribed to eliminate cosmetic defects.
- Radiotherapy techniques. Radio wave therapy is performed after surgical removal of the tumor. This is necessary in order for the microparticles of the neoplasm to be completelycollapsed and never grew again. The dosage of radiation and the form of exposure are selected individually, taking into account the severity of the pathological process and the natural mechanisms of resistance of the body. Radio wave therapy can be replaced with a photodynamic apparatus series of flashes or immunomodulatory drug therapy.
- Chemotherapeutic effect with the stage of complex preparation. Chemotherapy is conditionally divided into two subspecies: systemic chemotherapy and local chemotherapy. In the case of tumor metastasis, the radiosubstance is injected directly into the metastasis cyst. Punctures are carried out before a thorough study of the number of processes, their branching, the speed of attachment to he althy organs (bones, tissue and nerve fibers). Local CT involves the direct application of the drug in the area of greatest damage. In medical practice, daughter-maternal deliverance from skin neoplasms is very common - it is necessary to remove the main source of the disease, after which local inflammatory foci begin to die by themselves, without constant replenishment. Of course, in the case of skin cancer after MCT, several laboratory apparatus procedures are necessarily carried out for the final removal of tumor remnants.
- Photodynamic therapy. It implies the destruction of cancer cells by breaking them with UV rays. This technique is one of the most effective, especially in the early stages of the disease. The main contraindication to its implementation is the patient's high sensitization to light rays. Therefore, before daring to test a new “young” technique, it is necessaryundergo a comprehensive examination and make sure that there are no negative consequences on the part of the immune system.
- Immune and targeted therapy. Sophisticated and promising techniques that involve the "targeted" destruction of the tumor by stimulating the immune system or the introduction of drugs created specifically for a specific type of cancer based on the individual genetic characteristics of the patient. Some experts believe that over time, this area of oncology will replace all other methods of treating neoplasms, but so far, immune and targeted therapies are used in combination with other procedures and to prevent relapses. Anyone can participate in the development of a new progressive approach. To do this, you must contact the head physician of the institution and sign an agreement on the desire to transfer your clinical data for compiling medical statistics.
Today there are a huge number of special techniques that allow patients to completely recover from any form of cancer. The most important thing is to see a doctor in time and try to find alternative ways to get quality medical care in order to be able not only to overcome skin cancer, but also to avoid relapses. Also, do not forget that the tendency to develop neoplasms (both benign and malignant) is inherited from mother to fetus. In a dormant state, genetic cells can wander around the body for a long time and wake up at any moment. Therefore, many oncologists recommend that women and men who have had skin cancer or another formoncopathology, sign up for pregnancy planning courses and study the genetic material for compatibility, and after the baby is born, immediately tell the pediatrician about the fact of treatment for a malignant neoplasm.
Forecast
Skin cancer, like any other type of oncology, progressing, affects not only he althy cells, but the entire body as a whole. This happens due to the creation of an aggressive environment and the rejection of one's own tissues at the cellular level. The prognosis of a disease associated with a cancerous lesion depends on the severity of the manifestations and the degree of destruction. If we talk about skin cancer, the statistics show the following data:
- successful cure - 90% of cases in the first or second stage;
- 50% of favorable outcomes in the third stage;
- only 10-12% recovered in the fourth final stage of the disease.
This is due to the fact that basiliomas respond much better to therapy than melanomas. Another important aspect that affects the prognosis is the presence of complications. Septically, a person's skin protects him from the penetration of harmful bacteria and dirt. When neoplasms occur, the dermis ceases to function correctly, freely passing many bacterial and other agents.
Thus, the patient may experience:
- inflammation of bone tissue, periosteum and nerve fiber;
- bleeding and sepsis;
- infection of the tissues of the zygomatic, frontal lobes with subsequent penetration of the infection into the brain.
WhenIn the presence of such complications, it is impossible to clearly form a prognosis. Doctors can only guess how the patient's body will react to intensive care.
