Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
Each year in the U.S. over 5.4 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are treated in more than 3.3 million people.
Non-melanoma skin cancer, which is the kind of cancer that affects the nose, has become one of the most common forms of skin cancer and it is estimated that one in every five Americans are affected by it. Nose skin cancer generally includes basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
Strangely enough, not many people ask the right questions in their cancer-risk evaluation processes. For example, instead of asking “what” to look for, they should ask “where” to look for suspicious signs and symptoms.
Nose skin cancer symptoms and signs are easy to detect. One has to be aware of the signs and symptoms of nose skin cancer in order to preempt diagnosis. Nose skin cancer is common and aggressive, and must be detected early in order to have a chance at being cured or controlled.
What are the common signs and symptoms of nose skin cancer?
The first signs of nose skin cancer must be seen in the outer flaring and the tip of the nose, as these are most likely to demonstrate the development of nose skin cancer, through the formation of lesions and moles.
Lesions on the dorsum, ala, sidewall, tip and the columella often pass unnoticed or we take them to be aberrations of the skin.
This is not always the case and such lesions should always be checked by a doctor.
A skin bump that is pearly or waxy is the first thing that you should be on the lookout for.
The skin may even be simply slightly raised or sometimes even flat with a mild discoloration that we can even overlook. These are the things that you should look out for and get checked as soon as the symptoms are visible.
Some other common signs:
A sore that does not heal but that bleeds or oozes is a symptom of basal cell nose skin cancer. These are easy enough to notice.
Long term staying of wounds, development of new moles and spots on the skin, discoloration or skin whitening around the area of the nose are some of the other signs you need to be on the watch out for.
These signs and symptoms will also change texture, color and so on, and even that is a warning sign. Therefore all you have to do is subject yourself to a good scrutiny every once in a while to be rest assured. Early detection is crucial in any kind of cancer and therefore, testing yourself for signs and symptoms is very important.
Nose Guard
After having skin cancer removed from his nose, Naples resident Bob Scallan was advised by his dermatologist to keep his nose covered any time he is exposed to the sun. Not interested in having to constantly apply messy sun block, he created a peel and stick device called the Nose Guard.
“The statistics on skin cancer, particularly on the nose, are staggering, and I wasn’t interested in having another occurrence”, said Scallan. “I visited every pharmacy in the area and did an online search, but just couldn’t find a convenient alternative to sun block. It was then that the idea of a peel and stick product was born.”
Research shows that people do not apply enough sun block and do not reapply it after going in the water. The Nose Guard is a convenient and effective alternative to messy sunblock. Made with a latex free adhesive and an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 50, it will stay on all day no matter how much one sweats or goes in the water and will block out 98% of harmful UVA and UVB sun rays.
Nose Guard is available in a variety of colors: flesh, neon pink and green, yellow, purple, and blue camouflage.
Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon. Skin cancer is preventable. Don’t become a statistic, protect your nose and skin from the sun.
For more information or to purchase a Nose Guard, e-mail bscallan@comcast.net.
