2023-05-02 10:09:00
Days before traveling to São Paulo, Daiane Lima, 27, decided to have a Facial Cleansing. She did not imagine that the procedure to clean the pores and reduce the fat on her face would help her discover a skin cancer.
Lima says that she gets facials regularly and, in mid-2022, she scheduled the procedure again with a beautician from Erechim, the city where she lives. However, after the process, she says that she noticed that the area near her nose was sensitive. “After a few days there was a small wound, but I assumed it was because they had removed a blackhead or something and I started using a healing ointment“, remember.
The young woman, who works doing piercings, details that in the following weeks the wound healed, but then it did not disappear completely. She stayed like that for a little over a month. And it was after bleeding that she realized the injury. “I woke up and my nose was bleeding a lot. It was then that I decided to make an appointment with a dermatologist“, account.
Since she does not have health insurance, the woman, who is self-employed, had to use her savings to pay for a private consultation. And it was during the first visit to the doctor that the suspicion arose that the sore on her nose that she did not heal could actually be skin cancer.
“When the doctor talked about this possibility, I burst into tears. You think of 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,” says the young woman. The biopsy result confirmed that Lima had a Basal cell carcinomaand type of skin cancer, and that he had to undergo surgery to remove it.
Last January, he underwent surgery and they removed part of the skin from his face to remove the tumor. She needed 27 stitches and was out for two months. The diagnosis also caused the young woman to postpone the last semester of her History degree.
“My life changed completely from one day to the next. It is not only about the diagnosis, but about all the consequences that it entails. In addition to paralyzing the university and work, there is also the question that it affects self-esteem, especially since my cancer is on my face, a very visible place, ”he recounts. In addition to the mark on the skin, Lima says that the cancer also caused a crisis of anxiety and depression.
“My self-esteem is gone. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror and I avoided going outside. Everyone was asking me what I had done and why I had a scar. I didn’t leave the house for a long time because I didn’t want to be seen. Not to mention that people make jokes that hurt me, like calling me fat. They have no idea why my body is like this,” she says, noting that the medications led to her gaining weight.
According to him National Cancer Institute of Brazil (INCA), Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of non-melanoma skin cancer, accounting for about 80% of diagnoses. It originates from the basal cells of the epidermis and It presents 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 the most benign of all tumors, because it almost never directs tumor cells to other organs. This only happens when the treatment takes a long time and the tumor is aggressive, invading the bone, for example. However, this is rare”, explains Reinaldo Tovo, coordinator of the Dermatology department at Hospital Sírio-Libanés in São Paulo.
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 appears after the age of 40 and in areas of the body directly exposed to ultraviolet radiation, such as the face, neck, back and chest, for example. The disease affects more men than women, and is rare in children, adolescents, and black people.
“The main risk factor is prolonged exposure to the sun, especially during childhood and adolescence. The sun is a cumulative matter, the more sun one takes throughout life, the greater the chances of suffering from skin cancer in adulthood. Whoever has lighter skin, that person who turns red and not dark when exposed to the sun, also has a greater chance of developing skin cancer,” adds Vanessa D’Andretta Tanaka, a dermatologist at the Hospital de Amor in Barretos (São Paulo). ).
The diagnosis is usually clinical. The dermatologist assesses the skin lesion and, if in doubt, may perform dermoscopy, which involves placing a lens over the lesion for further analysis. To confirm the diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma, a biopsy is done.
The standard treatment for non-melanoma skin cancer is surgery, since the procedure allows greater control of the tumor margins, thus providing a greater guarantee of cure. The goal of surgery is to completely remove the lesion and surrounding tissue as a margin of safety.
“This type of surgery is usually very safe because most lesions are usually in the initial stages, with a low risk of metastasis,” says Tiago Kenji, technical director of Dasa Oncology at Hospital Santa Paula, in São Paulo.
Some care such as a good diet, not drinking alcoholic beverages, avoiding tobacco and, above all, avoid excessive exposure to the sun, help prevent skin cancer. “People should use sunscreen on all exposed areas and the filter should be appropriate for the skin type, whether it is younger or mature, oily or acne-prone,” adds Tovo.
It’s also important to protect yourself by wearing sun-protective clothing and accessories, such as T-shirts, caps, and hats. If the person cannot afford these items, ordinary clothing and accessories also help protect the skin, as long as they fully cover the area.
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