Skin cancer is a problem for many people, but not deadly if found and treated early

What is it?
Skin cancer is cancer at the outer layer of your body, your skin cells.  There are three types – basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma.  Melanoma is the most deadly, but it is also the least common.

Symptoms:  Irregularly-shaped moles, red, scaly patch of skin, moles larger than a pencil eraser, multi-colored moles, any change in a mole’s appearance, sores that don’t heal.

Prevention

Sunscreen    
The whole reason for sunscreen is to protect you from the sun’s two types of scorching rays – ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB).  Both suppress your immune system and can cause skin cancer.  Most sunscreens only block UVB rays, so for protection from UVA rays, buy products labeled as “broad spectrum” sunscreens.

Know your SPF   
According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) is a number that refers to the product’s ability to block out the sun’s burning rays.  It is figured by comparing the amount of time it takes to burn protected skin, to the time it takes to burn unprotected skin.  For instance, if you sunburn without sunscreen in 10 minutes, it would take 150 minutes to burn if you were wearing a sunscreen with SPF 15.

Green tea  
Green tea contains polyphenols, compounds that act as cancer-fighting antioxidants.  These compounds seem to protect skin from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Make green tea your drink of choice and apply the extract directly onto your skin.  Green tea creams and lotions can reduce the number of sunburn cells and protect your DNA from UV damage.

Resource Center: 

Skin Cancer Foundation
Melanoma Education Foundation
Skin Cancer Awareness Foundation

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