Can someone explain squamous cell carcinoma?

My mother recently died 2 weeks after being diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. I had never heard of it and still dont understand how we would have known to catch it early enough. She said her pain was artharitis ie...legs, lower back and she had headaches. Thats all I know about it.

First off, very sorry about your mother's sudden passing.

Second off, the John Hopkins's Cancer Alert referred to in the answer above is a hoax and was not released by John Hopkins. Here is their denial explanation email.

http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org...

You did not say where your mother's squamous cell cancer was located. Was the primary possibly located in her lungs or throat? If so this is a bad location for a SCC and she had probably had the cancer for months before her death while attributing her pain and feeling bad to her other health problems. At this time advanced SCC is not curable so at least your mother did not have to suffer long. Still this leaves you with inadequate time to prepare for her death and much unfinished business in terms of greiving. I'd suggest you read the book "How to Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies" by Therese A. Randle. It is available at Amazon or any bookstore. This book really helped me after the death of my father.

all the best in your time of grief

My experience with people who have had it is that it takes you down very fast. It is a fast growing cancer that spreads quickly.

Health Alert links to John's Hopkins, a highly respected medical institution, advocates cancer prevention.

I simply went to the web site for John's Hopkins and clicked on health alerts and how they do confirm prevention of cancer or disease through nutrition.

http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/... Colon Cancer Prevention and Nutrition

http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/...
Cancer experts estimate that diet accounts for up to 90% of cancers of the prostate

http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/...
Maintaining a healthy diet, and using diet in combination with exercise to maintain a healthy weight, can help lower the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and many kinds of cancer.

The bottom line...

Diet is a direct connection to disease, regardless if they tell you its genetic, because genes do change instantly in their form as you eat.

The body cannot be the panacea or cure all if it does not have the proper nutritional tools to reach that state of wellness.

Because our farming practices are in fact, delivering foods that have lost massive amounts of the phytochemicals and antioxidants that John's Hopkins is talking about, we must supplement with antioxidants that have science to prove that they work.

Educated people make educated decisions.

Because I am a hypochondriac, when I saw skin blemishes on different parts of my body, I went to a dermatologist.. He said they were squamous cell carcinoma, or skin cancer and should be removed which I did immediately. He said they were caused by sun burn. In my teens and twenties, during the summer. I never wore a shirt.
Your mom died from too much exposure to the sun.

that is skin cancer..there are 3 types of skin cancers..basil cell, melanoma and squamas cell.. basil cell is the most treatable and less dangerous, though if not taken care of early, it will get larger- squamas cell affects the body from the inside and it spreads throuh out the organ, and melanoma attacks the skin also, but is worse then basil cell and will spread fast...all should be taken care of asap..if you see something strange on your body/skin, see your MD right away..i had basi cell in 1994 ans i took care of it right away..thank goodness that was the last bout i had..i check myself often and i get yealy exams at the dermatologist...