Skin cleaning reveals cancer in young people – 04/28/2023 – Equilíbrio

Days before taking a trip to São Paulo, Daiane Lima, 27 years old, resident of Erechim (RS), decided to have a facial skin cleansing. She just didn’t imagine that the procedure to clean the pores and reduce the oiliness of the face would help her discover skin cancer.

Daiane reports that she routinely cleans her skin and, in mid-2022, once again scheduled the procedure with a beautician in the city. However, shortly after the procedure, she says that the area near her nose was sensitive.

“After a few days, a small sore appeared, but I figured it was due to a blackhead being removed or something and I started using a healing ointment,” he recalls.

The body piercer (a professional who works with piercing) details that, in the following weeks, the wound healed, but then it did not disappear completely. It stayed that way for just over a month. And it was after bleeding at the site that she became more alert to the injury.

“I woke up and my nose was bleeding profusely. That’s when I decided to make an appointment with a dermatologist,” he says.

As she does not have a health plan, the young woman, who works as a self-employed person, had to use her savings to pay for a private consultation. And it was right on the first visit to the doctor that the suspicion arose that that wound on the nose that would not heal could actually be skin cancer.

“When the doctor spoke of this possibility, I burst into tears. You think a thousand things. As I was young and had no cases of skin cancer in the family, I never imagined that this could happen to me. My world collapsed at that moment”, she says. the young woman.

The biopsy result confirmed that Daiane had basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, and needed surgery to remove it.

In January, she had the procedure and part of the skin on her face was removed to remove the tumor. It took 27 stitches and she needed to stay two months without working. The diagnosis also made the young woman drop out of the last semester of History college.

“My life completely changed from one day to the next. It’s not just the diagnosis, but also all the consequences it brings. In addition to paralyzing college and work, there’s also the question of self-esteem that ends, even more so for my cancer is on the face, a very visible place”, he reports.

In addition to the mark on her skin, Daiane says that the cancer also caused her to be diagnosed with an anxiety and depression crisis.

“My self-esteem was gone. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror and avoided going out on the street. Everyone asks me what I did and why I got my scar. I didn’t leave the house for a long time because I didn’t want to be seen. people make jokes that hurt me, like calling me chubby. They have no idea why my body is like that,” she says, pointing out that the medications led her to gain weight.

What is basal cell carcinoma

According to the National Cancer Institute (Inca), basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of non-melanoma skin cancer, representing about 80% of diagnoses. It originates in the basal cells of the epidermis and appears mainly as a lesion (wound or nodule) with pink, translucent or pearly edges, which does not heal, and may ulcerate and bleed.

“It is a skin cancer considered, among all the tumors, the most benign, because it hardly sends tumor cells to other organs. This only happens when the treatment takes a long time and the tumor is aggressive, invading the bone part, for example. However, this is rare”, explains Reinaldo Tovo, coordinator of the Dermatology nucleus at Hospital Sírio-Libanês.

The main risk factor for basal cell carcinoma is direct exposure to the sun. Light-skinned people are the most vulnerable to the disease, which usually manifests itself after the age of 40 and appears in areas of the body directly subjected to ultraviolet radiation, such as the face, neck, back and chest, for example. The disease affects men more than women, being rare in children, adolescents and black people.

“The main risk factor is prolonged exposure to the sun, especially in childhood and adolescence. The sun is a cumulative issue, the more sun you take throughout your life, the greater the chances of having skin cancer in adult life Who has lighter skin, that person who turns red when sunbathing and not dark, has more chances of developing skin cancer too”, adds Vanessa D’Andretta Tanaka, dermatologist at Hospital de Amor, in Barretos.

Diagnosis and treatment

The diagnosis is usually clinical. The dermatologist evaluates the skin lesion and if there are any doubts, he can perform a dermoscopy, which is the placement of a lens over the lesion for more detailed analysis. To confirm the diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma, a biopsy is done.

The standard treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer is surgery, as the procedure allows for greater control of the tumor margins, thus allowing greater guarantee of cure. The objective of the surgery is to completely remove the lesion and the surrounding tissue as a safety margin.

“This type of surgery is usually very safe, as most injuries are usually in the early stages, with a low risk of metastasis”, says Tiago Kenji, technical director of Dasa Oncology at Hospital Santa Paula.

care

Some precautions such as good nutrition, not drinking alcoholic beverages, avoiding smoking and, above all, avoiding aggressive sun exposure help prevent skin cancer.

“People should use sunscreen on all exposed areas, and the filter should be suited to their skin type, whether it’s younger or mature, oily or acne-prone,” adds Tovo.

It is also important to protect yourself by wearing clothing and accessories with photoprotection, such as t-shirts, caps and hats. If the person is unable to purchase these items, common clothes and accessories also help to protect the skin, as long as they completely cover the area.