Protect Yourself Against Skin Cancer

How can you reduce your risk of getting skin cancer?

During the summer, it’s hard to avoid the sun in Miami. Constant exposure to the sun can do a lot of damage to the skin and lead to skin cancer, which makes up half of all new cancers.

Skin cancer rarely kills people, which is a good thing, but it can do a lot of damage. The good news is that skin cancer can be stopped, is easy to find, treat, and cure.

We used to think that only Ultraviolet-B rays, which are the main cause of redness and sunburn and hurt the top layer of skin, caused skin damage. We now know that Ultraviolet-A rays, which make up 95% of the UV radiation that reaches Earth, have deeper effects on the skin and cause many of the changes we think of as signs of ageing. Most of the changes that people usually think of as signs of ageing, like skin that looks “old,” damaged eyes, and skin cancer, are actually caused by things outside of the body, mostly sun exposure.

90% of skin cancers happen on parts of the body that aren’t covered by clothes. We see that many farmers, boaters, fishermen, and people who like to lay out in the sun get skin cancer. People with fair skin, red or blond hair, and blue eyes are especially at risk. Make sure your skin is covered when you are out in the sun. In addition to sunscreen, you can also help protect your skin by wearing clothes that block the sun.

Only a quarter of people with melanoma are 39 or younger, so it’s especially important for people over 40 to see a dermatologist for a full body checkup. After that, make sure to care for your skin the right way.

Top 5 Interesting Facts About the Sun

• On cloudy days, 70% of the sun’s ultraviolet rays get through the clouds.
• One in six Americans will get skin cancer at some point in their lives, and one in 75 will get melanoma.
• Most moles appear before people turn 20. When you spend more time in the sun, you get more moles and are more likely to get melanoma.
• Melanoma is the leading cause of death among older white men. Men are twice as likely as women to get basal cell skin cancer. Squamous cell cancer is three times more likely to happen to men than to women.
• If a child gets two or more bad sunburns as a child, their chances of getting melanoma as an adult double.