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Proper skin care helps prevent skin cancer and what better time to review prevention techniques than at the beginning of the warm summer months? May is listed in the Health and Wellness Calendar as Melanoma/Skin Cancer Prevention Month. Summer brings added risks of sun damage to your skin. It's a good time to remember why it is so important to protect ourselves from the effects of the sun's UV radiation. Risk Factors Here's a list of the more important risk factors for skin cancer:
Symptoms Squamous and basal cell skin cancers are by far the most common, with 1 million new cases dignosed yearly. They can be cured if found and treated early. A change on the skin, such as a new growth, a sore that won't heal, or a change in an old growth are what to watch for. Most skin cancers are not painful.
Much less common is melanoma, with about 54,000 cases a year. But melanoma is much more serious and must be caught early. It can spread throughout the body. Only early detection will prevent this. Here is a mnemonic to remember when checking your own skin for melanoma:
A= asymmetry. It is not round or even in appearance B=Borders are irregular
C=Color tends to vary in different part of the same mole
D=Diameter is more than 6 millimeters
If you think there is something new or a change on your skin then make a visit to your doctor. Sometimes a biopsy is necessary to really determine what the skin change is all about.
In caring for yourself and your family please remember the following:
It does not matter what size or shape we are, what color or race. As we age, our skin changes. Mature or aging skin functions less well than young adult skin. Young skin is well hydrated and smooth. Over times wrinkles start to appear--a result of the gradual lessening of the water content in the outer layer of our skin, the effects of lipids and sebum, plus the damaging effects of the sun over time. If you smoke, the added harmful effects of cigarette smoke and tar lead to the formation of harmful free radicals, which in turn weaken and collagen and elastin fibers of the skin. This results in even faster skin wrinkling. So, if for no other reason--stop smoking and save that youthful appearance! As women get older, and especially after menopause, reduced estrogen level may lead to more drying of the outer layer of skin. This in turn tends to make the mature skin look thinner and older, more apt to be fragile and easily bruised. Small blood vessels become more easily broken.
So what can we do to put moisture back, slow the formation of fine lines and wrinkles, or in short just try and turn back the clock a bit.
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