Beat that Mean Melanoma

Beat that Mean Melanoma

May is Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection & Awareness Month. According to Westchester Health Associates, skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States but it is also one of the most preventable and treatable. The incidence of skin cancer has reached preposterous levels: there has been a 300% increase in non-melanoma skin cancer since 1994 & 90% of it is associated with exposure to UV radiation. Furthermore, 1 in 5 Americans will have skin cancer at one point in their lives.

Stuart Zweibel, MD, PHD, from Westchester Health Associates states, “A tan is actually your body’s attempt to protect itself from the sun’s harmful rays and is a symptom of the sun damage that is occurring beneath the surface of the skin.”

In order to protect your skin from these unwanted rays, use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more. Make sure you apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going outdoors. The ingredients in the sunscreen need time to bind to your skin to be effective. If at all possible, avoid the mid-day sun, especially the hours between 10 AM to 4 PM, when the sun is the strongest and can do the most damage.

Know the warning signs of skin cancer. A skin growth that changes in size and appears pearly, translucent, brown, black, tan or multicolored, a mole or birthmark that changes color or texture or increases in thickness, is irregular in outline and larger than the head of an eraser.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20100510083529tsop.nb/topstory.html