What Is The Skin Cancer Is
Skin cancer is 1 of the most preventable types. Hither'southward what to know and how to protect yourself
Long sleeves, SPF and an umbrella aid Yvette Ellerbe, 56, protect her skin from sun damage, subsequently being diagnosed with skin cancer several times.
Getty Images, Contributor / Getty Images/EyeEmPeel cancer is the most common form of cancer, with an estimated 5 million cases diagnosed every year in the U.Due south. Information technology'due south too one of the most preventable and treatable if you're proactive at protecting yourself.
It's important to identify skin cancer equally soon as possible, because even the almost unsafe type, melanoma, is highly treatable early on. Melanoma has an estimated v-year survival rate of 99 per centum if it's detected before information technology tin can spread to other parts of the body, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, a national entrada to brainwash the public about skin cancer prevention and detection. Bated from wearing sunscreen and avoiding sunburns, it's as well a skilful thought to check your peel for anything that looks unusual and come across a dermatologist if it changes size, shape or color over time, said Dr. Susan Chon, a professor of dermatology at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
"It'south really important for patients to not exist alarmed if they see something, to be proactive," she said. "That's probably my one word of communication, is to simply go run across a dermatologist."
Chon and Dr. Ida Orengo, professor and medical managing director of the dermatology at Baylor Higher of Medicine, spoke to the Chronicle to offer tips about how to identify skin cancer and how to protect yourself.
What are the most common types of skin cancer?
There are three major types of skin cancer, and they can be divided into two groups, Chon said.
The first is melanoma, which is the most dangerous type but only accounts for 1 percentage of all skin cancer cases, according to the American Cancer Society. Melanoma is particularly dangerous considering it can grow rapidly and spread to other organs. The ACS estimates that nearly 100,000 new melanomas will be diagnosed in the U.Southward. in 2022, and information technology will cause more than seven,600 deaths.
The other group is the nonmelanoma pare cancers, basal cell carcinoma and squamous prison cell carcinoma. They're much more common, with an estimated 3.6 one thousand thousand basal cell carcinomas and 1.8 million squamous cell carcinomas diagnosed annually in the U.South., co-ordinate to the Pare Cancer Foundation. They are highly treatable, though squamous cell carcinomas are more likely to turn deadly if left untreated over a long flow of time.
How can yous tell if y'all might have skin cancer?
The most obvious warning sign is anything abnormal that can't be explained abroad equally something like an injury or an insect bite. If the abnormality is changing in size or shape, itching or there's a halo of white forming around it, it'due south time to go meet a dermatologist, Orengo said.
"I kind of tell patients that if it's unexplainable and after 3 weeks it's yet there, y'all demand to get have somebody take a wait at it," Orengo said.
Pare cancers generally don't have any symptoms, just if they do, it volition be itching, Orengo said.
Melanoma often appears to look like a mole, but it's commonly assessed using the ABCDE dominion. The acronym instructs people to check if the mole is asymmetrical, has an irregular or jagged border, has an uneven color, has a bore that'due south changing size and is evolving over time.
What are the risk factors for pare cancer?
Skin tone plays a major role in someone'southward gamble for skin cancer, with those with lighter skin existence at higher run a risk. That's because melanin, the paint that's primarily responsible for skin tone, too protects against the sun's ultraviolet rays. More melanin generally means a darker skin tone and more UV protection.
Yet, anyone can develop skin cancer, regardless of pare tone. In fact, in people of color, melanoma often occurs in areas that get niggling exposure to sunlight, such every bit the palms of the easily, the soles of the feet and the nailbeds.
Other take a chance factors include a family history of peel cancer and an occupation that inherently leads to a lot of fourth dimension spent in the sun. Farmers and construction workers, for example, volition be spending more time outdoors than someone with an office task.
How can you protect yourself?
The easiest style to protect yourself from skin cancer is to avoid spending as well much fourth dimension in the sun, Orengo said. She recommended doing outdoor activities like gardening or thou work before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. to avert being sunburned.
Information technology'south also important to remember that sun exposure is cumulative, Chon said. It'southward important to clothing sunscreen when you're going to the embankment, just it's also important if yous're going on a twenty-minute run every twenty-four hours.
"All those things kind of add upward," Chon said. "It's all kind of cumulative."
If y'all exercise need to be out in the sun for an extended period, article of clothing a broad-spectrum sunscreen that's at least SPF 30 and reapply it every two hours. Long-sleeved shirt and pants, a hat with a brim and sunglasses volition also protect you from the dominicus.
Studies have shown that certain foods and drinks can help protect y'all, besides. The polyphenols in green tea and omega-3 fatty acids in fish such as salmon, mackerel and tuna have been found to aid preclude skin cancer.
How and when should you be checked for pare cancer?
Pare cancer tin can develop at any age. Orengo has seen melanoma in a four-twelvemonth-old patient and basal cell carcinoma in a 12-yr-erstwhile, so she recommends having a pediatrician check your child's peel during routine checkups.
Anyone with a family history of skin cancer is at college risk, so they should offset seeing a dermatologist beginning in their 20s, Orengo said.
Aside from having a dermatologist check your pare, it'south also a good idea to check yourself every few months, Chon said.
"We actually inquire patient to become kind of involved in their skin care. They see it all the time, and we see it very intermittently," Chon said.
How is pare cancer treated?
The expert news is that skin cancer is highly treatable if it's identified early on. The vast majority of deaths are from melanoma, just the five-year survival rate is 99 percent if melanoma is identified before it spreads to the lymph nodes.
Treatment typically consists of cut out the damaged peel, though there are creams that tin can be used to treat the earliest stages of basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. But if the cancer has spread, a patient may demand radiation therapy.
evan.macdonald@chron.com
Source: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/lifestyle/renew-houston/health/article/Here-s-what-you-need-to-know-about-skin-cancer-17162670.php
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