Skin cancer

For a lay person:

Skin cancer is the uncontrolled growth of skin cells, mostly caused by ultraviolet light from the sun or sunbeds. The main types are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, which is the most dangerous. It usually appears as a new or changing spot, mole or sore that does not heal.

For a trained medical person:

Keratinocyte cancers (basal and squamous cell carcinoma) are common and rarely metastasise, whereas melanoma can spread early; risk factors include UV exposure, fair skin, many naevi and immunosuppression. Diagnosis is by dermoscopy and excision or biopsy, with sentinel node biopsy and imaging for melanoma staging. Treatment is surgical excision, with topical therapy, radiotherapy or Mohs surgery for selected keratinocyte cancers, and immunotherapy or targeted therapy for advanced melanoma.

In Chinese medicine:

Liu and Tseng's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Wind Toxins Accumulation; Damp-Heat Accumulation; Fire Toxins Accumulation; Qi and Blood Deficiency. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: This needs specialist dermatology or oncology care; Chinese medicine is adjunctive at most. See a doctor promptly about any mole that changes in size, shape or colour, or a sore that has not healed after a few weeks, and do not apply herbal pastes to suspected skin cancers.