The Best Skin Cancer Care in Jackson, Wyoming
In any given season, the population of Jackson, Wyoming may only be a little more than 10,000 or 11,000 permanent residents, but because of the area’s huge popularity with visitors, many thousands are people can be found here. Why? The wonderful outdoor playground that surrounds the greater Jackson Hole area. From fishing to skiing to hiking to mountain climbing to bicycling and more, it is almost impossible to be bored when outdoors near Jackson, WY. But being outdoors also means exposure to UV light, the chief cause of skin cancer, thus people who live in or visit Jackson may be at elevated risk for this ailment.
If you think you may be displaying any symptoms of skin cancer, you need to get to a Jackson, WY dermatologist right away, even if you’re just visiting the area. A skin cancer specialist in Jackson can quickly diagnosis your disease (or allay your fears) and then you can choose to start treatment right away in Jackson or hurry home for skin cancer treatment where you live. Ultimately, the best skin cancer treatment is the treatment you start as quickly as possible.
Skin Cancer Symptoms and Images of Skin Cancer
Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in America at present, accounting for more than five million new cases of illness every year. Many people who develop skin cancer do not recognize the disease quickly because skin cancer symptoms show up in so many different ways. If you look at photos of skin cancer symptoms you will see many different ways skin cancer shows up on different patients. So the answer to the question “What does skin cancer look like?” may not be the one to seek; instead, when you see anything worrying on your skin, the better question may be “Should I get this checked out by a dermatologist?” And the answer to that is always yes.
While skin cancer symptoms vary from person to person, there are a few common ways non-melanoma skin cancer displays itself on the body, so watch out for these symptoms in particular:
- Open Sores or Lesions – A sore or other small wound on the skin the cause of which you can’t explain and that won’t heal as you’d expect may be skin cancer.
- Raised Shiny Bumps – Elevated bumps that may be pink or red and have a pearlescent exterior are common symptoms of non-melanoma skin cancer.
- Flaky Patches – Waxen, yellow or gray patches of skin that flake away from time to time are very likely skin cancer or pre-cancerous growths.
- Irregular Moles – A mole that is changing its shape and size, is irregularly colored, or has irregular borders may well indicate skin cancer, and at times may be a symptom of the most aggressive form of skin cancer, melanoma.
How Serious Is Basal Cell Carcinoma?
Basal cell carcinoma skin cancer, or BCC for short, is the most common form of skin cancer and is readily treated by skin cancer doctors in Jackson, WY as long as you catch the cancer early. With rapid intervention, BCC can be treated and completely cured on almost all patients without significant risk of greater health complications. If you think you may have symptoms of basal cell skin cancer, get to a dermatologist immediately and, if the diagnosis comes back positive, start treatment right away and you’ll soon be restored to full health.
How Serious Is Squamous Cell Carcinoma?
Squamous cell carcinoma spreads more rapidly and aggressively than BCC, but if caught early on and treated aggressively, it is not more deadly and is completely curable. With squamous cell cancer (SCC for short) time is even more of the essence than with BCC, but the same reliable treatment for basal cell skin cancer can be used for SCC. So how do you choose the bests skin cancer treatment in Jackson Hole for your specific needs? For many patients, the answer is trusting Superficial Radio Therapy.
Superficial Radio Therapy Cancer Treatment for BCC and SCC
Superficial Radio Therapy, or SRT, uses a concentrated dose of radiation delivered to the site of a carcinoma during treatment sessions repeated almost daily over the course of several weeks. The radiation does not penetrate more than five milliners down into the skin and does not cause side effects to healthy tissue nearby, but it does disrupt the DNA of cancer cells, causing them to stop replicating and spreading and to die and slough off of your body. SRT is an outpatient procedure with minimal discomfort.