Skin Cancer Diagnosis
Skin cancer has common symptoms compared to other types of cancers. Hence, the individual cannot recognize the skin cancer in the early stage. If the skin cancer is diagnosed at the early stage, it becomes easy to cure the disease and avoid its severe damages. Therefore, a person who is suffering from the skin cancer symptoms should immediately visit the skin specialist and get diagnosed it as early as possible.
Diagnostic Tests for Skin Cancer
If the doctor has confirmed about the symptoms of skin cancer, one of the following tests or more than one test is recommended:
- Physical Examination
This is the superficial examinations of an individual's skin to check the unhealthy state of it. Doctors can get primary idea about the causes of the person's skin cancer. In this examination, some factors are observed like- patient's lifestyle, foods, history of radiation, family history of skin cancer and whether the patient has exposed to the severe sunlight or radiation. If the exposure to the radiation is present then the doctor will examine the skin more critically.
- Biopsy
Biopsy involves the examination of the cancer infected part of skin under microscope to understand the spread of cancer cells. This is the most effective tests used for the diagnosis of skin cancer because it is very easy to see the cancer cells through the microscope. This test helps to find the level of the skin cancer and its infection.
After Biopsy it becomes clear whether the person is suffering from the melanoma cancer. If the biopsy has showed the malignant melanoma, the patient needs to go through other tests to confirm the growth of cancer.
- Excisional Biopsy
This is the ideal biopsy to cure the melanoma skin cancer. In this method of diagnosis, doctors remove all the nearby tissues of skin cancer to stop its growth. However, all the time this treatment is not possible, as it depends upon the location of the cancer and its spread. It is also important that this biopsy should be done under the supervision of the anesthesia specialist. The tissues are taken to the pathologist who examines these tissues under microscope.
There are other methods available for the diagnosis of skin cancer like blood tests and chest x-rays. If the metastatic melanoma is found, blood tests and x-rays are used to determine the spread and location of cancer. The presence of the cancer is detected wit the help of chest picture taken by the x-rays. Then, blood tests are conducted to find the organs that have infected by the blood tests. However, the staging of cancer also should be considered before the treatment is started.
