Skin Cancer

GuanYin

Just looking at the figures of skin cancer for last year and they are pretty shocking.

Overall non-melanoma skin cancer accounted for approx 40% of all cancer diagnosed and approx 4% were diagnosed with melanoma of the skin.

Whats shocking about this is that skin cncer is the one form of cancer that we can actually pinpoint the exact cause every time: Overexposure to ultra violet (UV) rays of the sun.

This year was the hottest that I remember, with the most sun exposure. I really dread to think what the skin cancer prevalence will be for 2003. I would most certainly think it will be an increase.

This is probably the first year there has been a decent visible skin cancer awareness campaign, but I dunno if it will work. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) published a study showing that although most younger people (the group most at risk) recognise the danger of overexposure to the sun, they are still not protecting themselves when outdoors (34% of those under 25 admitted to applying sunscreen in 2003).

There were 151 deaths from just over 100,000 diagnosed cases of both types of skin cancer (this is nearly 2% of the yearly cancer mortality rate). Considering the majority of the population is fair, why aren't we using sunscreen dammit!

Sarky

Because most of us are idiots?

It's probably sociological. We have a terrible habit of thinking "Ah sure I'll get away with it this time" or "Oh I'll be alright" or something similar.

Result? We get fried.

IrishPug106GTi

Skyeirl:
Firstly I would like to thank you for raising awareness of this issue. I was diagnosed with a fairly rare form of Skin Cancer just 3 years ago. I had a severe case of amelanotic malignant melanoma and ended up being out sick from work for 4 months. At one point it was touch and go as to whether it had spread into my lymph nodes or lungs. I was only 23 at the time and have had a serious reconsideration of what exactly is important in life.
I still see a specialist every three months and have a full head, neck and thorax scan every six months.
Thankfully my employer at the time provided Private health insurance and as such I was able to avail of some of the best oncologists and reconstuctive surgeons in Ireland. I only lost a large portion of my left ear but the experience both humbled me and made me a much stronger person.
To finish up, this was the result of a bad case of sunburn I received on holidays in Lanzarote four years ago. Folks, be vigilant, if it is hot outside, wear suncream. I have to wear factor 60 on a mild day from now on.
Rant Over..!!

sunbeam

Wow-sorry to hear that IrishPug. Good health wishes etc. to you.

I have very pale photosensitive skin and burned a lot as a child but have tried to either stay out of the sun or wear sun cream since my teens. I went through a stupid phase of covering up but trying to sun-lighten my hair blonde but that's another story.

These days I wear a moisturiser with at least SPF15 every day and an SPF60 sunblock if I'm going to get any substantial sun (i.e. just go for a walk on a sunny day). I have to admit to being a fickle female here and the prospect of lines and wrinkles is probably more motivation than skin cancer-even though I have multiple moles and am quite vigilant about checking them. I know most of the damage is already done by age 30 but I can already see a substanitial difference between my skin and that of similarly aged sunloving relatives.

From my infrequent visits to various beauty forums it would seem that awareness of the risks of UV exposure is increasing and the choice of a daily moisturiser with at least some sunfilters is becoming the norm. I'm personally unconvinced about the level of protection they offer. Very few seem to list a rating for UVA protection at all, so I suspect it is minimal.

Is it true that UVA levels tend to remain fairly constant over the year? It seems that a lot of cosmetics companies are using this argument (despite the lack of UVA ratings mentioned above) to sell their products and I can't seem to find any unbiased information on this.

Schlemm

My Grandad had a skin cancer scare last year (althought he seems to be doing ok now).

It reminded me that skin cancer is such a deadly disease and is so easy to contract.

Wear a hat and cover up!

Tans may come and go but you're stuck with the one piece of skin you have for the rest of your life!

http://www.skincancer.org/ has some great information and pictures.

Don't forget to keep an eye on your skin and keep it healthy.

Scenic911

Its not only us adults that seem to forget to put sunblock on. It the kids too...as most parents are aware starting the young to get used to the idea of "sunny day = I need sunblock" before i go out to play is crucial to keep our children safe. My young one even drag his pals in if he see red sunburn on them and if you have freckcles stay away from the sun or they go green...my wife have freckles and she doesn't do well in the sun or the heat. I even have to constantly remind her to put sunblock on...

Anyway roll on the summer...its blinking freezing now...

S