If you notice that moles on your body are changing shape or color, are raised, or feel scaly then there’s a possibility that you could have invasive squamous cell skin cancer. Check with a dermatologist as he or she will be able to tell you for sure one way or another. A squamous cell skin cancer prognosis can never be made by the patient. You could be possibly be putting your health in jeopardy if you think you can figure it out for yourself.

Worse than that, you might determine that what you have is a non issue and do nothing. Either way, attempting to handle the situation yourself is not in your best interest. A specialist can examine your sores or moles and provide you with the proper squamous cell skin cancer prognosis. He or she can then figure out what treatment is best suited if the tests come back positive.

The Discovery

The arms, neck, ears, and face are the areas that will typically be affected by squamous cell skin cancer. The people most likely to get this kind of skin cancer are those with too much exposure to x-rays or chemicals, those with light colored skin, eyes, and hair, and people over 50 years of age. The signs of squamous cell skin cancer could come in the form of a sore that is not healing, moles that change in their shape or color, or bumps that develop and appear as reddish, flat, and scaly. If you have any of these symptoms, then you need to see your dermatologist immediately.

You could find out that it’s nothing to be concerned about, but then again it could mean something more serious. Let’s face it, taking the time to visit a specialist and learning that nothing is wrong is better than not taking action and then finding out later that the cancer has spread to various parts of your body. This type of cancer is very treatable when detected early on in it’s development. However, some people are dying from skin cancer because they allowed it to progress too far without getting treatment.

Testing

The biopsy will be done by your dermatologist. This process involves taking a piece of a mole and sending it off to be tested in a lab. The dermatologist will sometimes just be able to cut the entire mole off, which will cure the cancer completely. If the patient receives a positive test for the squamous cell skin cancer prognosis and cutting it off isn’t effective, then the dermatologist will possibly turn to a skin graft. Radiation treatments are for more severe cases, and chemotherapy could be applied if nothing else works.

Once again, always have a specialist make the squamous cell skin cancer prognosis. It might be scary to find out that you have cancer, but the sooner you get it done the better. Besides, there is always that chance that nothing is wrong in which you can get peace of mind.