Skin Cancer Awareness – What signs to look for? is a post from: Skin Cancer Information

We all know that we need to keep an eye on skin and be cautious with moles, freckles or spots. But what exactly are we looking for?
While nothing will replace the expertise of your doctor and you should always get any new growth checked out, there are some signs that may indicate it is melanoma skin cancer. Doctors often use an ABCDE scale:
1) Asymmetrical: a spot is more likely to be melanoma if it is asymmetrical. Most benign moles and freckles tend to have a uniform shape.
2) Blurred outline: the outline of the spot tends to merge gradually with the rest of your skin
3) Color variations: the outer edges tend to be varying shades or black, brown or blue
4) Diameter : more than 6 millimeters is usual
5) Elevation or enlargement: it is slightly raised or has become larger in size.
Although it is a useful list of symptoms it doesn’t cover every type of lesion. Your local skin cancer center should have leaflets available which explain in more detail the other symptoms that you could look for. It is wise to go see your medical advisor if there is any change in color, shape or size or if your skin feels different or starts becoming inflamed, bleeding or crusting over. Alternatively if you have a spot that just won’t heal, this could also be skin cancer and should be brought to the attention of medical staff. Prevention is much better than trying to cure this disease and your local cancer center will be happy to put your fears to rest.
So what does skin cancer screening involve? If your doctor suspects melanoma he will arrange for an excision biopsy to be carried out. The whole lesion is removed along with some normal skin around it and examined in a lab. Before this happens, he could arrange for you to have skin surface imaging which will reveal the details of changes in the appearance of the skin. Some of the more advanced skin cancer centers have computerized systems that can examine photographs of lesions and compare them to pictures or cancerous and non cancerous growths in order to make a diagnosis. This is a very advanced system and is rarely wrong.
When the lesion is removed, the surgeon will also remove some healthy tissue around the lesion. This is to ensure that no malignant cells are left behind which could spread the disease further in your body. But it is a delicate procedure as they cannot remove too much tissue in case the lesion is malignant as this will make treatment more difficult. If it is found to be skin cancer, the pathologist will report on the type, thickness and whether there is ulceration or not. The treatment you will have to undergo will depend to a large extent on the pathology findings. The cancer is staged from 1 to 4 with 4 being the most dangerous and difficult to cure.

The highest rate of skin cancer occurs in Australia. The rate of occurrence is so high, one in every two people develop it in some form or another. The main cause is unprotected exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and tanning machines. Although ultraviolet radiation cannot be felt or seen it can cause sunburn, early aging to the skin and damage to the skin that can lead to skin cancer.

Skin cancer is associated with a lifetime exposure of UV radiation and most parts of Australia have all year round high levels of ultraviolet radiation.
Even though skin cancer normally appears in older adults, the damage to the skin begins from an early age due to the UV exposure of the sun, such as sunburn.

Recent research has suggested that the white cells become damaged, often in childhood and the subsequent sun exposure in adulthood can trigger the cells to develop cancer.

Although anyone can develop skin cancer, the risks are increased if a person
* Does not protect their skin from the sun
* Has infrequent and intense exposures to the sun
* Spends a lot of time in the sun, such as working
* Was born or spent their childhood years in Australia
* Has had sunburn in childhood
* Has fair skin that freckles and burns easily without an easy tan
* Has fair or red hair with green or blue eyes
* Has solar keratoses (sun spots)
* Has a lot of moles
* Has an immune system that is compromised due to reasons such as being HIV positive or consumption of certain drugs following an organ transplant.

Those with dark or olive skin experience better protection from the sun due to the fact that they produce more melanin in the skin than people with fair skin. However, the ultraviolet radiation in the sun is stronger in Australia thus people with dark and olive skin need to protect their skin also.

You can protect your skin from cancer by:
* Keeping out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, when the sun is at its strongest. More than 60% of the sun’s radiation reaches the earth’s surface during these hours.
* Using as much shade as possible, such as umbrellas, trees and buildings. Shades should be chosen carefully as ultraviolet radiation can bounce off surfaces such as water, concrete and sand which can cause sunburn
* Wear clothing that will cover you as much as possible, especially the back of your neck. Shirts should have long sleeves, trousers; skirts should cover all the legs. Woven fabric provides the best protection.
* Hats should be worn to protect the face, ears and neck and should have a brim that is at least 8-10cm.
* Sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 should be worn whenever in the sun. It should be water resistant and be applied at least 20 minutes before going into the sun and reapplied ever two hours or straight after swimming or sweating.
* Eyes should be protected with sunglasses
* Avoid tanning machines such as sun lamps

Preventing skin cancer

Although skin cancer typically happens to Caucasians, those that work outside, smokers and people with a family history of skin cancer, everybody is at risk these days as the statistics show. Skin cancer instances have doubled every 10 years over the last 40 years and we need to take action to prevent it from happening to us.

2 of the types of skin cancers are very lethal if left too late and it is therefore essential to follow the tips that I am about to provide you with, that I have in part sourced from the worlds largest healthcare organization. (NHS Direct Online)

Essentially, the best way to protect your self from skin cancer is to take care in the sun is to take preventative action and make sure you don’t burn your skin. Once you have been burnt the damage has already been done so make sure to cover up with loose fitting clothes.

Also, make sure to cover your legs and arms if it is at all possible. Heat stroke can be avoided if you again use loose fitting clothes and drink lots and lots of water to replace what you lose.

Remember that tightly woven fabrics will provide the best protection from the sun. you should also avoid direct sunlight during the mid day sun from 11am to 3pm as this is when the sun is at it’s strongest. If you must go outside between these times then make sure to cover-up with clothes, hat and sunglasses and apply plenty of sunscreen.

Always use a sun protection lotion with an SPF (sun protection factor) of at least 15, although very fair-skinned people, children and people living in exposed areas of the world need to use lotions with an SPF of up to 40.

Make sure that your entire body is covered by sun protection lotion with sun protection factor above 15. An absolute minimum to cover up is your face, hands, feet and neck but you should also consider using it all over as the most vulnerable parts of your body are the places that are not usually exposed to sunlight.

You also need to apply sunscreen at least 30 minutes before going out in the sun and then apply it every couple of hours, as sweat and friction against towels for example will cause it to wear off. Also reapply immediately after swimming, even if your lotion says it is of a waterproof variety.

I would suggest that you also consider wearing waterproof sun protection when you are out swimming. UVA and UVB rays can penetrate through 2 feet of water. You should also remember that clouds and fog do not stop the ultraviolet rays from penetrating and getting to your skin – that’s the job of the ozone layer (which we incidentally are killing off).

Finally, I would suggest that you cover up with clothing and use SPF 15 sun lotion even on cloudy days and always wear a hat and sunglasses that have UVA and UVB filters when in the sun. And if you want a final reminder about the dangers of sunlight, remember that ultraviolet rays can damage the retinas in your eyes causing cataracts.