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It's easy to forget that there's a significant health risk behind that balmy year-round weather, miles of sandy beaches and a sprawling ocean. But island living can come with a hefty health price if you don't practice skin cancer prevention — which means more than slathering on sunscreen.
The three major types of skin cancer — basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma — are on the rise, according to mayoclinic.com.
Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute, and it's becoming more common every year. Melanoma develops in the cells that produce melanin, the pigment that gives your skin color and can form anywhere in your body — commonly the back, legs, arms and face. It also can occur in your eyes and, rarely, in internal organs.
Most melanoma first surfaces as a change to an existing mole or the growth of a new-unusual aspect to your skin. Suspicious changes in a mole include: scaliness, itching, change in texture, spreading of pigment from the mole into the surrounding skin and oozing and bleeding.
For melanomas that have spread, treatments options include chemotherapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy.
Most skin cancers can be prevented by limiting exposure to the sun and monitoring suspicious moles. Even the most aggressive forms of skin cancers can be successfully treated with early detection.
Did you know?
Humans shed about 600,000 particles of skin every hour. That works out to about 1.5 pounds each year, so the average person will lose around 105 pounds of skin by age 70.
Who's most at risk for melanoma?
- Those who spend a lot of time outdoors at places like pools, golf courses or gardens.
- Those who have a family or personal history with melanoma. Between 5 and 10 percent of people who develop melanoma have a close blood relative who developed melanoma.
- People who are fair skinned; have blond or red hair; have blue, green or gray eyes; likely to burn rather than tan; tendency to freckle or form pigmented moles with sun exposure
Source: National Cancer Institute
5 ways to prevent skin cancer
1. Avoid tanning beds and tan-accelerating agents.
2. Know your medications. Some prescriptions and even over-the-counter drugs (such as antibiotics and birth control pills) can make your skin more sensitive to sunlight.
4. Check your skin regularly and report changes to your doctor. Have regular skin exams every year if you're older than 40 and more often if you're at high risk of developing skin cancer.
5. Sunscreen. Sunscreen. Sunscreen. Did we mention sunscreen? (p.s. the best ones contain titanium dioxide and mexoryl).
Source: www.mayoclinic.com
