STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - November was National Healthy Skin Month, designated as such by the American Academy of Dermatology. But, caring for your skin is something people should pay attention to year-round.
Besides being your largest organ, skin is one of your most vulnerable. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the U.S. More than 2 million people annually are diagnosed with skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
* The single most important thing you can do to keep your skin healthy is protect it from the sun. Sun exposure makes skin more likely to wrinkle, spot and develop cancer. In fact, your risk of skin cancer is directly related to your cumulative exposure over a lifetime to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun, as well as sun lamps and tanning beds.
A child who suffers even a few bad sunburns will have an increased risk of skin cancer later in life. Even if there's no burning, the damage from repeated UV exposure will increase the risk of non-melanoma skin cancers. (Any time your skin changes color in response to UV radiation – even if it tans – it's been damaged.)* Other risk factors for skin cancer, in addition to a history of sun exposure, include any family occurrences of skin cancer, fair skin that freckles or burns easily, and light-colored hair and eyes. Forty to 50 percent of fair-skinned people who reach the age of 65 will experience at least one skin cancer.
* Being a man is another risk factor: Men are more likely to develop the disease than women.
Sun exposure correlates most closely with the non-melanoma types of skin cancer, one of which is called basal cell skin cancer. This type is most commonly found on the face, which gets far more sun exposure than other parts of the body, and is the most common type of skin cancer among fair-skinned people.
The most common skin cancer for people with dark skin is squamous cell skin cancer. It's most likely to be found on their legs and feet. Squamous cell does also occur among the fair-skinned population; however, in their cases, it's most often on the face. Squamous cell cancer does sometimes spread to other parts of the body, while basal cell skin cancer rarely does.
The skin cancer most likely to spread through the body is melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. It's also the type of skin cancer that can occur anywhere, including those areas that rarely or never see the sun, such as between the toes.
Finding and treating skin cancer early improves your prognosis dramatically, so it's a good idea to conduct monthly skin exams. Even melanoma, if treated early, can have a 95 percent cure rate. Check for moles that are new or are changing and any lesions that seem suspicious. If you have a question or concern about anything you find on your skin, always see a dermatologist to follow up. And no matter what you find, see a dermatologist once a year for a check-up.
Take Care is provided by Richmond University Medical Center as a community service.