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Skin Cancer Awareness Month: Your skin matters, get educated
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Skin Cancer on the rise. Your skin matters, get educated!
As the month of May brings skin cancer into focus, it’s time to increase our understanding of the disease. Discover how skin cancer has changed over the years, find out what to look for, and most importantly, what you can do to reduce the risk.
Infographic provided by NorthWestPharmacy.com
Read the following list of Skin Cancer Prevention Tips from News-Medical.net and share them with your friends and family:
- Limit sun exposure: Skin damage occurs over time and studies have shown that children tend to get 80 percent of their lifetime exposure by age 18. Limit the amount of time you and your children are in the sun, especially between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
- Use sunscreen: The American Cancer Society recommends daily use of sunscreen with at least an SPF of 30. Reapply sunscreen every few hours while exposed to the sun, regardless of the SPF and be wary of commonly overlooked areas such as the top of hands, ears and scalp.
- Protect your eyes: Cases of ocular skin cancer have increased dramatically in recent decades. Protect your eyes by avoiding excessive exposure to sunlight and wearing sunglasses in bright conditions. Fair skinned and blue-eyed people are especially susceptible to ocular skin cancers.
- Avoid tanning beds: People who use tanning beds at least once a month boost their risk of skin cancer by more than 50 percent, especially for younger users. Healthy alternatives include spray tanning and tinted lotions.
- Examine your skin: Annual check-ups and regular self-exams are the best tools for early detection. Be sure to check your skin regularly, especially if you have a family history of skin cancer. Look for changes in moles and freckles, including asymmetry, uneven boarders, varied color, and growth.
- Keep newborns out of the sun: Sunscreens should be used on babies over the age of six months.
- Learn your family’s history of skin cancer: Talk with your doctor about your family history of cancer and other diseases. If skin cancer or melanoma runs in your family you could be at greater risk.
If you know someone who is dealing with skin cancer, you can help them with the financial burden by starting a FundRazr campaign to help with their medical bills.