A skin tan is one of the things most people look forward to acquiring during their summer vacation. In fact, it is a mark of success of a summer vacation. For many, a good tan is one reason that makes going to Africa or the tropics a worthy course in spite of the financial investment required.
The question is, just how much sun-tan is adequate? Are there additional costs associated with exposure to the sun’s rays? While most people find pride in returning from a summer vacation with a skin tan, this beauty may come at an additional and lifetime cost of managing skin cancer.
What is skin cancer and what causes it?
‘Cancer’ is defined as uncontrolled growth of cells. As with all other cancers, early detection is a prerequisite for better management and/or a complete cure from the disease. Also, like other cancers, it can be a lethal and most stubborn disease to treat. The challenge for most people is that they rarely act with a sense of urgency when exposed to risks of skin cancer. This could be because they underestimate the risks or are simply ignorant of them.
Before we shed light on some of the signs and symptoms of skin cancer, let’s explore just how much of a problem skin cancer is. In the USA alone, there are more than 2 million people who develop skin cancer annually. In comparison to lung, breast and prostate cancers, skin cancer has remained the most common form of cancer among patients in the last 30 years and more. Another factor is that the skin is the largest body organ and therefore exposed in a larger surface to the sun’s rays and chemical substances that can easily trigger cancerous growth.
Another factor contributing to the high prevalence of skin cancer is ignorance of the signs and symptoms as mentioned above. This is how to tell whether you have a skin cancer:
– Have you spotted some dark spots on your skin of late? Any mole color or change in pigmentation of your skin on small spots should send alarm bells ringing.
– Do you have itchy spots on your skin? If this itching persists and even turns out to be painful or tender, then it is time to get alarmed. If parts of your skin gradually get scaly or develop bumps and even bleeding, then you could be having a developing skin cancer.
The causes of skin cancer are many, and the list includes any form of energy that is likely to alter the composition and function of skin cells including the sun’s ultraviolet (UVB) light and chemicals. The most common cause is unprotected skin exposure to the sun’s rays over a long period of time. This affects the melanoma skin cells or the basal and squamous cells. Due to the changes in these cells, they begin to multiply too fast when compared to other cells.
Who is likely to get skin cancer?
Anyone with long exposure to the sun’s rays without UV protection can end up with skin cancer. This makes people on long summer vacations at greater risk of developing skin cancer. Most affected are the melanoma cells. These are skin pigmentation cells which are easily damaged by the sun’s rays. Among people with black skin who originate from the tropics, their skin has developed genetically due to environmental conditioning. The dark pigment protects the skin from the bad effects of sun rays. This means that people with light or fair skin are at more risk for skin cancer than people with darker complexions.
Other factors that place an individual at higher risk include genetic predisposition due to a family history of skin or other cancers and severe skin burns which expose the melanoma, bast and squamous cells to environmental energy.
With this background information in mind, here are ten tips for preventing skin cancer:
1 – Know your skin type. It is not just fair skin that is likely to get affected by the sun rays and lead to cancer, it is also about the tensile strength of the skin. It is advisable to visit a dermatologist and ask for information. If your skin has had exposure to other corrosive materials, then it also needs extra care and protection during your summer vacation.
2 – Do not weaken your skin through bleaching. Use of cosmetics on the skin can also lead to weakening of the skin cells due to bleaching. This exposes the lower cells such as blast and squamous cells to the sun’s rays during the summer.
3- Avoid the direct sun rays between mid-morning and early afternoon. The hours between 10am and 4pm contain high energy from the sun’s rays and it is advisable to avoid being exposed at such hours.
4- Use sunscreen lotions. These lotions limit the amount of Ultra Violet (UV) rays that reach your skin cells.
5 – Do not assume that black skin is immune to skin damage and cancer. It is not true that all black skins cannot get skin cancer from summer vacation sun rays. If you have darker skin, you need to adhere to these tips as well.
6 – Protect your eyes by using sunglasses. The eye is one of the skin organsthat have considerable exposure to sun rays. Therefore wear sunglasses during your summer vacation to protect your eyes from skin cancer.
7 – It is not only during sunny days that you are at risk. Please, do not stop using your sun block cream because it is cloudy or stay through mid-morning lying out in the blazing sun. It is the UV rays that cause cancer, and they are present even on cloudy days.
8 – Attend to signs and symptoms with urgency. Any lesions or scaling of the skin along with the signs listed above should be addressed urgently. Early detection and treatment is more effective and cheaper than putting it off.
9 – Consider your family history. If your family has a history of skin cancer, then you need to be expecially careful when checking your skin for possible cancers.
10 – Eat healthy. This includes eating more fruits and vegetables which provide better skin care and tone. Abuse of drugs and alcohol is likely to deteriorate your skin’s health and make it more at risk.
About the Author: Aqeel Syed is a blogger who writes about natural ways of healing on his blog www.dahnyoga.org.
Credits: Photo courtesy of Claire Muldoon.