Every disease leaves its own indelible mark.
In the case of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), a type of skin cancer, you get dragon horns.
We’ve heard about baby milk coming out of a vulva or a baby born without a penis, but the latest weird health case is about a ‘dragon horn’ that has grown over three years on the back of an English patient.
Actually, the fifty-year-old had the second most common non-melanoma skin cancer, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC).
But this dangerous desease situated in the man’s lower back, was left untreated and developed into a monster growth that reminded doctors of a dragon horn.
The dragon horn reached a length of 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) and was about 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) thick.
Since squamous cell carcinoma horns are mostly malignant tumors (94% of the cases), it was removed by surgeons with a fair chunk of healthy skin too.
Dragon Horns are rare
Cases of dragon horns are rare since most cases of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma are diagnosed and treated early.
And this should have been the case also since healthcare in the UK is free.
But despite the current public skin cancer awareness and rigorous healthcare measures, SCCs as big as this can still arise and slip through the net.
While such large horns are rare, this type of skin cancer represents is one of the most common in the U.S. with about 1/8 men developing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma during their life. But from the 2.2 million people diagnosed in 2015, only 51,900 died as a result. More headlines on Strange Sounds and Steve Quayle
