Be Aware, Be Very Aware: Skin Cancer
by mipmup

Contributing Editor mipmup also blogs at mipmup.


May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, so just in time for Memorial Day as we envision ourselves basking in the sun or perhaps sidling alongside the outdoor barbecue grill cocktail in hand, I scoured around to see what it#039s all about.

A~Lotus, down in Houston where they know sun, posts useful information about skin cancer: risk factors, symptoms, screenings, sunscreen — the works.

TRI and be happy, a cancer survivor, gives us her melanoma tip for the day, which includes "The ABCs of Moles & Melanoma." FYI: A melanoma is a "usually malignant tumor containing dark pigment," according to Merriam-Webster.

ultratart: it's got bite has firsthand experience with skin cancer, spanning two generations. Find out if her suspicious-acting mole was anything to worry about.

The Cancer Blog highlights how you and a buddy can receive a free cancer screening by a dermasurgeon (new buzzword alert for " dermatologic surgeon") near you.

To start 'em young, The Little Brown Blog posts advice on how to protect the little ones in your life from the damaging effects of the sun.

photo credit: Cindy Kalamajka

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mipmup.
Contributing Editor, Health & Wellness

For more by mipmup, read:
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Submitted by mipmup (view blog) on Wed, 05/24/2006 - 22:35

Comments

 

All sunscreens are not created equal
(x-posted)

I just posted about sunscreen on my blog today. I think people need to know all they can about the issues in order to make their decisions. While I must admit to enjoying having a nice golden tan, I too must add my vote for "pasty white" over skin cancer. My mother used to sunbathe at every opportunity (even when she was on meds that made her far more susceptible and clearly stated that she should stay out of the sun!!) and she had melanoma a few years ago. Thankfully it was caught in time. Even more thankfully she has smartened up about sunbathing.

Shannon

Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too. ~Voltaire
www.theherbalhotline.com
herbs411.com

Submitted by Summerwolf on Tue, 05/30/2006 - 10:16
 

This is finally the year...

For years, I've known I've needed to be careful. I'm fair and freckley, and I spent years in the sun in Africa and as a lifeguard. I didn't use sunscreen like I should.

However, this is finally the year when I made the switch. I put it on every single day, even if I'm just going to work. Part of this I'll credit to the sunscreen manufacturers who are finally beginning to make products that aren't greasy. But part of this I'll credit to me, finally wising up. I hope I'm not too late.

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Genie, Link TextThe Inadvertent Gardener

Submitted by theinadvertentgardener on Thu, 06/01/2006 - 12:18
 

There's hope

Well as I understand it (I may be wrong, of course) it's less a matter of tanning being bad and more that every time you have a burn it increases your chances of getting skin cancer. Your post doesn't say whether or not you burned much during those years of not using it. So if you didn't burn much then you should be doing well.

Shannon

Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too. ~Voltaire
www.theherbalhotline.com
herbs411.com

Submitted by Summerwolf on Fri, 06/02/2006 - 05:07
 

EVERYONE is at risk for SKIN CANCER!

While I understand your point, Shannon, your comment is potentially misleading.

While it is true that sustaining just one "blistering" sunburn before age 18 gives you a 60% chance of having skin cancer as an adult; that each sunburn increases your risk for skin cancer, it must be said that tanning is equally dangerous, damaging, and potentially deadly.

Whether you are fair-skinned like me, and burn quickly or you're olive-skinned and tend to tan, the risk is still exists.

ANYONE can get skin cancer. Bob Marley, for instance, died of a malignant melanoma. It is true that fairer-skinned individuals who burn easily tend to have more skin cancers; however, darker-skinned individuals have a great risk for melanoma--the deadliest form of skin cancer, because they tend to think that a tan is not serious and thusly do not wear sunscreens.

At any rate, to say that "if you didn't burn much then you should be doing well" is misleading.

And, as a skin cancer educator, I feel it necessary to clear up any myths or misconceptions and warn everyone that skin cancer is an issue for EVERYONE to be concerned about.

EVERYONE should be wearing a SPF 15+ sunscreen, all-day, every-day, all-year-round.

Danielle M. White
Co-founder/president
The Cancer Crusaders Organization
PO BOX 2076
Provo, Utah 84603
info@cancercrusaders.org

Submitted by acancerfreeutah on Fri, 08/03/2007 - 10:18