Rodent Ulcer: the Most Frequent of All Skin Cancers

My friend has some noticeable red patches on her face and neck. She did tell me in at least one occasion that she has spent a lot of time in the sun over the years and thought she has a skin cancer, or at least the beginnings of one. Not wanting to leave any uncertainties in her mind, she decided to consult her doctor at once. Her doctor then referred her to a dermatologist for some visual examinations. Suspecting that my friend has a skin cancer, the dermatologist removed a small piece of the growth and sent it to a pathologist for a laboratory examination.

The pathologist's findings confirmed that the cells were indeed cancerous. Further tests revealed that my friend has rodent ulcer, the most frequent of the three major kinds of skin cancer (the other two being squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma). Also called basal cell carcinoma, rodent ulcer causes local erosions of tissues if not attended to at once. This form of skin cancer is slow-growing and can be successfully treated in nearly all cases. If left untreated, however, it may spread.

In human beings, skin cancer is the most common kind of cancer. What's good to know is that there is a higher rate of success in treating skin cancer than in any other kind of cancer. But the rule remains that it must be treated. Those who are most likely to develop skin cancer are persons between the ages of forty and sixty. The principal cause of all the three major kinds of skin cancer is overexposure of the skin to sunlight. This is especially so if the skin is dry, scabrous, and of a complexion that doesn't easily tan. Continuous or repeated irritation of any kind is likewise a probable cause.

Rodent ulcer may start out as small, harsh patches of skin that are either paler or redder than the surrounding skin. It can also begin as small lumps that bleed easily and seem to heal too slowly or not at all. It is so tiny to begin with, about the size of a pinhead. But it will grow and spread into surrounding tissues if left untreated. In such a case, scarring becomes more likely and treatment more difficult.

In the early stage of rodent ulcer, doctors may surgically remove the growth with a knife; or they may freeze it with liquid nitrogen, which is what was done in my friend's case. In this freezing treatment, called cryosurgery, the cold is regulated to destroy the cancer cells, and the wound heals fully in a few weeks. There is very little or no scarring in this kind of treatment, the reason why my friend opted for it.

While surgery with a knife creates a more noticeable scar, it enables the doctor to examine closely what has been removed and determine whether all the cancer has been taken out. After surgery, the wound may be treated immediately with electricity to destroy any cancer cells left behind, and to halt bleeding by sealing the blood vessels. [Read the Original Article]

Source: http://www.rodentulcer.co.uk/aboutrodentulcers.html