A new study from the United Kingdom proves that tea might be for more than just drinking. Not only that but also this beverage may have properties in it that can save your life. Although only in the animal testing stage this new research is looking like it may already have some very positive results. The feeling is that tea as a lotion may be able to stop the damage done to skin by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Drinking the tea could give the same benefits to the patient as using the lotion but the patient would have to drink at least ten cups daily.
Both black and green teas contain polyphenols. These polyphenols seem to somehow block the body’s ability to make skin cancer of the non-melanoma type. The important part of this research is that the polyphenols seem to do this after the skin has been exposed to too much sunlight. The studies have shown the scientists that the polyphenols hamper an enzyme called JNK-2 and prevent it from helping the development of the cancerous growths. Somehow, though they are not completely sure why, JNK-2 plays a pivotal, role in tumor development. When the skin is continuously in the sun in an unprotected state the JNK-2 levels rise and stay higher in the skin that was exposed. In areas with higher levels of JNK-2 the risks for skin cancer are much higher.
Experiments on mice showed that polyphenols, when put directly on the skin with the higher levels of JNK-2, quickly lowered these levels. At the same time this appears to have blocked damage to the skin. The researchers feel this is a big step. They believe they may have found the key to blocking the skin from developing skin cancer caused by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Since a person would have to drink at least ten cups a day of black or green tea to get enough value from the polyphenols the ability to make this into a cream of lotion and apply it directly to the skin is a big step. Its also believed it is more effective when it’s applied directly to the skin.
There are even suggestions of putting this into sunscreen to block the sun and protect the skin at the same time. This would be like an intense protection plan for everyone who cared to try it. Unfortunately, trials on humans are still a few years away. So even though this lotion could be a reality it may be another ten years before its available to the public. Another interesting thing that researchers have found, but only with green tea, is that it also contains a lot of antioxidants and these may also help prevent skin cancer. They destroy free radicals that are believed harm the cells.
There are other creams that make claims to do wonderful things for a variety of skins cancers. Most have not undergone proper human testing and so are better stayed away from until they can prove their worth.
Decreasing your risk of skin cancer
While cancer is a disease that we cannot fully anticipate, there are some risk factors that weigh into a chance of a person developing skin cancer. Monitoring of the general patterns of the population’s skin cancer development has lead to a more accurate means of discovering a person’s risk. While some people with many risk factors will never develop the disease, it is helpful to know the chance that you stand.
Skin cancer represents the most commonly occurring cancer in the United States, and the number of skin cancer diagnoses increases by the year. While the number of deaths caused by skin cancer is low, it is important to treat the disease early to avoid complications. Almost 100% of all skin cancer cases are curable if treated in an early stage.
The main reason that people get skin cancer is excessive exposure of ultra-violet rays to the skin. Ostensibly, excessive exposure to the sun’s rays is the main factor that can cause the disease to develop. However, with the advent of tanning beds and sun lamps, a new risk is formed by those who wish to have a tanned appearance. The greatest risk of skin cancer is faced by those who have a light complexion and often get freckles. Usually, this is a risk factor for those with red hair or blonde hair. Skin cancer is most often diagnosed after age 50, but the damage that ultra-violet rays does to your body begins at an early age, so it is important to keep your tan in moderation. When you are going to the beach, it is important that you wear sun screen. Choose a wide-spectrum sun screen with a high SPF value to ensure that your body is getting the protection that it needs.
If you’ve been out for a long time and the sun screen begins to wear off, it is important to reapply. Also, studies have shown that the sun’s rays are most dangerous between the hours of 10 AM and 4 PM, so avoid these times for catching rays if at all possible. Another recommendation for those who are outside often is to wear clothes that provide protection from the sun. A tight weaving pattern, loose-fitting clothes, and dark colors are all aspects of proper clothing to wear when trying to avoid UV damage.
In addition to the risks represented by exposure to the sun and complexion type, it is also important to research whether or not skin cancer has occurred in members of your family. A full 1 in 10 patients that are diagnosed with skin cancer also have a close relative who was diagnosed with the disease.
While following these risk-decreasing habits, it is also important to ensure that you regularly check your body for the possibility of skin cancer. At least every three months, you should fully examine your body and note all differences in your skin’s appearance. The extended growth of moles, and bumps and interruptions in your skin can be cause for concern when it comes to this disease.
Does Skin Cancer Affect Children?
It is only very rarely that skin cancer affects our children. But if we do not protect them as children their risks of skin cancer as adults are much higher. So, what can be done?
The most important thing we can do for our children as related to skin cancer is not assume that they are infallible. We must begin now to protect them and teach them to protect themselves so that their skin does not get damaged young. Studies show that the average person get fifty percent of their lifetime’s sun exposure by the time they are a mere eighteen years old.
We must be careful when taking our young children out to play. Never think that because they have youth they are not exposing their skin to the UV rays that an adult is. Their skin is more sensitive than ours. So, when they go to play in the yard, at the park or with the neighborhood kids, that need sunscreen higher than that recommended for adults. It is suggested that children use a SPF, sun protection factor, of no less that thirty. They should play outside only if they have their sunscreen on, with any exposed areas, those not covered by their clothes, well coated. Children should wear a hat to protect their heads from ultraviolet exposure. Remember that even when you are in a pool with your child, especially the youngest ones who play in wading pools, that the water does not protect them and they must wear sunscreen then as well. For water to offer any protection you must be submerged at least a foot.
What about our adolescent children? They are far more concerned about looking and acting cool than understanding any serious health risks for later in life can be based on what they do as teenagers. This is the time they begin to express themselves. They take direction from their friends, and want to impress each other with how they know more than their parents. They sunbath so they can look more attractive to the opposite sex. This is the time in their lives when the things that are important to them are what are happening that day not thirty years in the future. Yet research has proven that if in childhood the child has five or more serious sunburns it greatly increases their later risk of skin cancer.
You’ll need to work with your teenagers to convince them of the advantages of sunscreen use and wearing hats. Appeal to their vanity. Explain that without taking these precautions they risk, even at their age, peeling skin, blistering from a severe burn, or freckling. Suggest a sunscreen that has a moisturizer to improve their skin’s appearance. And if the only way to get them to wear a hat is to spend a couple of dollars extra on that funky one she wants, the one you’d never be caught dead in. Remember, you don’t have to wear it, but it will protect your child.
Double Whammy Skin Cancer Treatment Has Some Success
There seems to be some hope on the horizon for people who have been diagnosed with malignant melanoma. This is the worst of the skin cancers and considered the most deadly. In an average year fifty thousand Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma, nearly eight thousand of them will lose the battle. The reason this form of skin cancer is so dangerous is that if it is not caught early enough, it spreads. Recently there is new hope on the horizon for treatment that will slow this down and maybe even stop it.
Recently research has had unexpected results with a combination of two skin cancer drugs that previously had not been very successful on their own. As a matter of fact the feeling among researchers is that this combination may be better than anything else currently being used to treat melanoma. Something about this combination is highly toxic to the melanoma cells. This has become obvious to them even though they are not entirely clear on why it works
The two drugs, tamoxifen and cisplatin, were used in a recent study of a hundred and fifty patients who had already successfully had their melanomas surgically removed. All of these people were believed to be at high risk for a reoccurrence of their skin cancer. So they became involved with a clinical trial of this new treatment. Each one of the patients was given the tamoxifen for seven days a month over a period of four months. The cisplatin was given only once during that seven day period. After two years the test group had almost no reoccurrences of melanoma. After three years sixty-six percent remained free of the skin cancer. The researchers believe that those results mean an outcome of seventy nine percent who should live for at least five years. That five-year period is always the outcome that they look towards. It’s the bare minimum that all drug studies aim for as a success rate.
This is a big improvement over other drugs that have had only a thirty five to forty five percent success rate with melanomas that had spread. Even Interferon, an immune boosting drug, does not seem to work with melanomas that have already spread. Currently too many of the researchers who are working on melanoma cures feel that this one two punch will not be the answer. They believe that there are too many unanswered questions and the long-term answer is still eluding them.
Researchers believe that continued research could bring them closer to an answer for skin cancer. They are currently putting a lot of their research efforts into trying to find a vaccine. The feeling is that a vaccine that could stimulate the immune system to fight the melanoma is the ultimate answer and they believe they will find it. Until then the best you can do for yourself is to take precautions when you are going to be outside in the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Use sunscreen and dress to protect yourself.
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