Hospital

Basal Cell Carcinoma – Type of skin cancer

There are a number of different types of skin cancers depending on the type of skin cell from which they arise. Each kind of skin cancer has its own distinctive appearance. Certain skin cancers also tend to develop in specific areas of the body.

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA : This cancer is the most common type, and is the type of skin cancer that 90% of US citizen are diagnosed with.
- Basal cell carcinoma arises from the basal cells in the bottom layer of the epiderrmis – stratum basale.
- Basal cell carcinoma does not metastasize like the other skin cancers, but can still badly damage the area they occupy.
- It resembles a small nodule that is red in color, and located on the face, hands, or sometimes the torso. Occasionally, these nodules appear on the trunk of the body, usually as flat growths.
- Basal cell carcinoma can lead to the loss of organ function on such external organs as the ears or eyes.
- Although most cases of basal cell carcinoma are caused by the sun, other exposures can have the same results. Arsenic, severe burns, tattooing, vaccinations, and radiation can all cause basal cell carcinoma.

The variety in which basal cell carcinoma can appear makes for hard diagnosis. It can hide itself in the form of a mosquito bite, wart, rash, or cyst. For these reasons it is important for one to see a physician if any area of sun exposed skin looks unusual or has had prolonged pain.

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Laugh your way to good health, especially in hospitals

Once in a while, in some park or some gathering place, you will find people laughing (and if you are not part of the group, you may consider them crazy to be laughing heartily in a group); also, from time to time, you will hear people saying that laughing is good for your health. As a part of this, there was a conference of people who are stakeholders in such an effort (doctors and clowns), and who also are involved in efforts where doctors behave like clowns in hospitals so as to impart humour in hospitals, in order to improve the ability of patients to get better.
This has also been there from older times, including from ancient Greece, where people who had depression were shown comedies so as to make them feel better, and the same has been true in many cultures. Even moviedom has adopted this concept, such as the movie where Robin Williams plays the role of Patch Adams, a doctor who used laugh therapy as a part of modern medicine (link to article):

The third International Congress of Hospital Clowns, which was held Nov 7-8 in the Argentine capital, brought together artists and health professionals from around the world who combine humour with health care, the Spanish news agency EFE reported. “All over the world there are doctors who work with the art. Some put on clown noses and some don’t. But in almost all regions, in Europe, the United States and Latin America, there are hospital clowns at work,” said Argentina’s Jose Pellucchi, artistic director of Payamedicos (Doctor-Clowns).
Among other positive effects, Pellucchi said that his organization has studies showing that, after doctor-clown treatment, patients’ blood pressure drops by 13 percent. The artist, who trains clowns, said that “getting laughs, causing pleasure is very healthy”, but added that there are significant differences between ordinary clowns and hospital clowns.