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Nurses contribute so much to cancer care and we wish them well for their 2023 conference, which no longer needs to be online only.
The Covid-19 pandemic brought downsides for cancer treatment. Apart from the pressure on medical facilities, people became concerned about visiting them, causing cancers of all types to be detected at a later stage.
With vaccination making a difference, Covid is now less of a concern but still in people’s minds. Good clinics do however continue to take precautions, please don’t delay a visit if you feel there is a problem.
All types of cancer benefit from early treatment and this is particularly true of skin cancer. Prompt diagnosis brings ever improving treatment.
An Historic Journey
Cancers were recognised by early Greek, or Egyptian physicians and 14th century Europeans, although a breakthrough in understanding came in 1775. A relationship was identified between exposure to soot and the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma.
This link to environmental causes has expanded, including substances such as asbestos, tobacco and of course the sun’s rays, a primary cause of skin cancer.
The 19th century saw improved knowledge on the relationship between inflammation and cancer, along with a microscopic view. Cell structure was better understood, the methods cancers use to spread through the body.
Inheritance of cancer risk also began to be recognised in the 19th century, more so with 20th century advances in genomics. Together with better knowledge of the immune system, an indication of the path 21st century treatment would take.
Unfolding Treatment
For a variety of cancers and particularly skin cancer, surgery continues to be the primary treatment. Often no more is needed for less invasive skin cancers, or all types if they are caught at a fairly early stage.
Safety in surgery has improved, new methods developed such as Mohs surgery, which preserves tissue yet has a high cure rate. Even in cases where skin cancers are advanced, surgery can play a part alongside other choices.
Breakthroughs in targeted therapies and immunotherapies have changed the way people with advanced squamous cell carcinoma can be treated. Approaches which have for a while been used to treat malignant melanoma.
Precision medicine has changed the management of advanced melanoma and more importantly, survival rates. By targeting genes at the heart of mutation and tumour growth, or controlling the role of our immune system.
Looking To The Future
Work to improve current treatment will continue. As with other cancers, researchers are seeking to develop treatments which directly target mutations in melanoma cells, or harness our body’s immune system to better effect.
Scientific understanding will increase, on the way cells and molecules function, or interact. Cancer biology is becoming clearer, the genomes of many cancers are now known, which can be compared to normal tissue.
New research will continue to yield breakthroughs, although we shouldn’t forget the part we can all play in avoiding suffering through cancer.
You may have seen TV ads encouraging visits to a doctor if you have long term stomach pain, or blood in bodily fluids. Taking note of those is a shrewd move, or a variety of symptoms which could suggest cancer.
If you see unwanted lesions appear on your skin, others change in unwanted ways, or a suspicious mole, please see a dermatologist. That treatment is advancing is a wonderful thing but we would still prefer you to avoid this.