Tips to prevent and detect skin
cancer can be more than skin-deep that new bump that wont
go away could be skin cancer.
cancers are rarely painful, which is why they often go undetected
and enlarge, becoming a greater problem, said Dr. Harry
L. Parlette, professor of clinical dermatology. Its
important to check yourself regularly for new growths or other
changes in the skin that last longer than two weeks. If skin cancer
is brought to a doctors attention before it has a chance
to enlarge, it can be more easily treated.
cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States.
The National Cancer Institute estimates 40 to 50 percent of Americans
who live to age 65 will have skin cancer at least once. Although
anyone can get skin cancer, the risk is greatest for light-skinned
people. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun is the main cause of
for preventing skin cancer
skin cancers appear after age 50, but the suns damaging
effects begin at an early age. Therefore, doctors advise taking
the following steps beginning in childhood to prevent skin cancer:
Whenever possible, avoid exposure to sun from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Wear protective clothes, such as broad-brimmed hats and long sleeves,
to block UV rays.
Use sunscreen lotion rated 30 or higher to block most of the suns
harmful rays. One teaspoon of sunscreen is needed for the head
and neck and one ounce for the rest of the body, Parlette said.
for detecting skin cancer
signs of skin cancer vary, but can include the following:
A new growth or a sore that doesnt heal in two weeks.
A smooth, shiny, pale or waxy lump.
A firm red lump, sometimes with bleeding or a crusty surface.
A flat, red spot that is rough, dry or scaly.
people who have been diagnosed with skin cancer, U.Va. researchers
are conducting clinical trials of a vaccine for melanoma, a less
frequent but dangerous type of skin cancer. Since 1996, 120 people
have been treated with melanoma vaccines developed by Dr. Craig
L. Slingluff, a U.Va. cancer surgeon. The vaccines have reduced
the size of tumors by half in 20 percent of 17 participants with
widespread melanoma. Survival rates have been increased to a larger
extent than anticipated, with virtually no harmful side-effects.
If the vaccines success rate continues throughout the remainder
of the trials, Slingluff said it could become available in the
next five to 10 years.
information about skin cancer is available on the U.Va. Cancer
Center Web site at http://www.med.virginia.edu/medcntr/cancer/ptlinks.html#melanoma.