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Melanoma Essay

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The most serious type of skin cancer is melanoma. Melanoma begins in the melanocytes and forms tumors that are usually brown or black. Any skin on the body can develop melanoma. The common places for melanoma to start are the back and chest of men and the legs of women while the neck and face are also common spots. Although it is uncommon, melanoma can also be found in the eyes and mouth. The skin is the main organ affected by melanoma but its is possible for the cancer cells to spread to internal organs. If melanoma is spread to the immune system, it can trick it to not destroy the cancer cells by use of immune cell proteins. Melanocytes are cells with pigment in them, that give the skin its color and are also the cells that become melanoma. …show more content…

Immunotherapy uses the person’s own immune system to identify and destroy cancer cells. The checkpoint proteins on immune cells help prevent the immune system from attacking the normal, healthy cells in the body. Sometimes melanoma cells used the checkpoint proteins to avoid being detected and eliminated by the immune system. One type of immunotherapy is Cytokines. Cytokines are given to give the body a boost to the immune system and are generally given during early stages of melanoma. Some sides effects are fever, chills, and depression. Immunotherapy targets the checkpoint proteins to help restore immune response against melanoma cells. Radiation treatments utilizes high-energy (x-rays) to murder cancer cells. External beam radiation therapy, a type of radiation treatment, is used to treat melanoma by pointing radiation to the body from a source outside the body. Changes in skin color, hair loss, fatigue, and nausea are side effect of the procedure. If a loved one or I were to be diagnosed with melanoma, I would choose radiation therapy because it is a strong treatment to get rid of cancer cells. Immunotherapy is less harsh which may cause some cancer cells to not be killed and continue to spread even after the procedure. With radiation therapy, I know there is a better chance of getting rid of cancer cells better than

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