Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and millions of people across the world are diagnosed with it each year. It can take the form of basal or squamous cell cancer or melanoma, the rarest form of skin cancer but also the most deadly. It can also be anywhere on your body, not just the arms, legs or back, as many people think. The good news is that it is very treatable if caught early. Below is what is known as the ABCDE criteria to help you decide if your mole or pigment spot should be checked by a health professional.

A: “Asymmetry”

Your mole or spot is symmetrical if, were you to cut it in half, the two sides would be mirror images of one another. If, on the other hand, the area is asymmetrical or lop-sided, this could be an early warning sign that it is cancerous.

B: “Border”

Check out the border of your mole or spot. If the border or edge of the spot is well-defined and clear, that is a good sign that it is benign. If, however, the border is irregular, has a scalloped edge or it just poorly defined, this is another sign that you need to go into a health professional immediately to have them check it out.

C: “Coloration”

If your mole is a one color – usually a solid brown – this is normal. On the other hand, if moles have a color that varies in shade from one area to another or have different colors – such as blues, reds, whites, or blacks – this is also a reason to be concerned and to make an appointment with a doctor immediately for further examination.

D: “Diameter”

Size of a mole or spot is also important – in general, healthy areas should be smaller than the end of a pencil eraser. Areas that are larger than this – or an area that has grown since the last time it was checked – should also be checked out immediately. In general, melanomas are greater than six millimeters in diameter.

E: “Evolution”

Even if you have no other symptoms such as the ones mentioned above, if a spot or mole begins to change – whether it grows, changes color or adds color or alters its shape.

Skin cancer takes many lives each year. However, wearing none chemical sun screen, avoiding the sun during the hottest hours of the day and wearing protective clothing are all great ways to avoid this. So is knowing the five warning signs of cancer that need to be checked out as soon as possible, since early treatment is linked to higher survival rates and better prognosis.

Black Salve (also known as Cansema and Indian herb)

Black Salves of one type or another have been around for a very long time, and some say go back a thousand years or more with the Native American Indians.

The use of Black Salves for the treatment of cancers has a chequered history of claims and counter claims by those who are believers, and by those who criticize its usage. More recently, towards the latter part of last century, more  refined versions of Black Salves have been used extensively with different names, including HerbVeil8 and Cansema.

Black Salve is a herbal based product, featuring two principal herbs that are said historically to have pharmacologically demonstrated anti-cancer properties, Blood Root (Sanguinaria canadensis) and Chaparral (Larrea mexicata). Recent versions of Black Salve include Galangal root (Alpinia officinarium) or Ginger root (Zingiber officinale), and sometimes Graviola leaf (Annona muricata).

The dried herbs contained in Black Salve are compounded in simmering water with a zinc chloride (ZnCl2) base, a small amount of DMSO (a carrier, a delivery system molecule), and some glycerine (a humectant, to help to maintain the moisture of the salve). The resultant Black Salve compound is aqueous (water-based), so moisture can be restored simply by adding water, if necessary.

Black Salve has been classified chemically as an “escharotic”, which literally means, it creates an “eschar” (a piece of dead tissue). In cases of skin cancer treatment using the Black Salve, the belief is that the eschar is the dead tumor. After treatment, the eschar will be expelled (sloughed off) by natural body processes over a short time (usually within 5 – 14 days even if the tumor is quite deep). Black Salve treated cancers rarely if ever requires debridement, or surgical removal.

It is important to dispel a myth about Black Salve. There is some opposing literature around suggesting that some Black Salves are corrosive, that is, they work by corrosion, like  “burning” into the skin, to burn the cancer out. Maybe some Black Salves in the past made were corrosive. But the more recent Black Salves used, including Cansema, are definitely not corrosive.  The Black Salves we have seen used, and which we use now, do not, repeat NOT, act by causing “corrosion” of the tissue.

Let it be known that it is true that Black Salve can be applied safely to healthy skin tissue, even sensitive skin. After prolonged application (24 hrs, or even up to 48 hours) to healthy tissue, the most it will do will be to create a bit of redness, and maybe mild itchiness, because it does attract blood and lymph to the area. This is simply an inflammatory response, and that is the desired function of the Black Salve after all.  But it will not “burn” or “corrode” at all, and once the Black Salve is removed it is known that these extremely mild symptoms will rapidly disappear.

So how does the Black Salve actually work?

Until thorough scientific trials are undertaken, we remain uncertain as to the precise mechanism(s) that might characterise the action of Black Salve. So these next few paragraphs on Black Salve are hypothetical and postulative, based on observational data only.

It does appear that principles (“actives”) contained within Black Salve are transdermally absorbed, that is, have the capacity to be absorbed across dermal strata, maybe into the deepest skin.

The Black Salve also appears to act as a catalyst (a “reagent”) in mediating an immune response, a response that demonstrates all the hallmarks of a classic acute inflammatory response. In short, blood (causing rubor) and serous fluid (causing edema) that is rich in leucocytes (white blood cells, including T cells, macrophages), cytokines and other mediators of inflammation, all are attracted to the area after the application of Black Salve, presumably increasing levels of various substances including tumour necrosis factor (TNF).

Again, from our personal observation, and studying testimony from practitioners and persons who have used it on themselves, their loved ones (including pets), and on patients, it seems certain that the Black Salve does not affect healthy tissue, only neo-plastic (cancerous) cells.

So, users of Black Salve, both professional and lay people alike, believe that when the Black Salve is applied sufficiently to the cancerous skin lesion, any and every cancer cell associated with that lesion, those laterally and those deep, will be destroyed.

They believe this result from using the Black Salve can be confirmed by a subsequent pathology test (e.g. a biopsy, or scan), and further confirmed with observations over time in which there is no recurrence of the lesion. So we’re not talking guess work or wishful thinking once you have applied the Black Salve. Observation of the tissue that is left after using Black Salve, demonstrates clear marginal healthy tissue, from which further healing ensues. In this respect, cancer cell specificity is being demonstrated, only cancer cells will be destroyed, not the healthy ones. Voila, nature’s scalpel is the effect. Thank you Black Salve.

Black Salve maybe applied safely at home, if you feel you would like a bit more information we highly recommend Adrian Jones series of e-books on using Black Salve. You simply leave the Black Salve on the lesion for a period of 24 hours, wash it off and allow the natural healing process to begin. After applying the Black Salve your healing period may take a few days to a month, depending on how deep or large your tumor is and if you are young and healthy, you will heal quicker than someone who is older and maybe not in as good health.

It is worth going to youtube to watch the many testimonial videos relating to black salve.