I just heard a podcast about Merkel Cell Skin Cancer on Australia Radio National's Health Report with Dr. Norman Swan.. I found that Wikipedia has an excellent description. It is a tiny skin growth that can actually be a death warrant if not caught very quickly. Take a look at this photo from Wikipedia:
That tiny little mark could be a type of cancer that can metastasize and spread through the body very quickly. I seem to feel I've had similar marks like that on my body many times in my life --but they went away. The real problem is that it doesn't appear to be anything dangerous, and most of us would ignore it and expect it to go away an a little while. What is also interesting is that it appears to affect white males between 60 to 80 more than women or other age groups.
It also appears to be caused by virus discovered in 2008 (Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) )that many people appear to have immunity against. People without immunity apparently are vulnerable to it. As we learn more about cancer we are finding that more and more of them are caused by viruses, or that viruses contribute in some way to the cancer.
The rates of this type of cancer appears to be growing quickly. Possibly due to the baby boom demographics, or is it due to more exposure to sun? Or is the virus becoming more prevalent?
It really seems to make it even more important for all of us, particularly in the age 60 to 80 year group, to have our skin checked professionally on a regular basis. There are specialists and support groups that can also help if we are diagnosed. Here is one: http://www.merkelcell.org/
