Introduction to Skin Cancer

An introduction to Skin Cancer
Medical Science has advanced greatly in the last century. Many of the most deadly disease and illness known to man has now found a diagnosis and a cure. However, cancer, one of the most deadly illlness known to man, remain elusive to modern science, and an advanced form of diagnosis and treatment remain difficult up till today despite modern medical science.

There are many forms of cancer and one of the most common form of cancer is skin cancer. Again, within the class of skin cancer, there are three general types of skin cancer.

The most common, and least dangerous is a so called rodent ulcer, or basal cell carcinoma, followed by the skin cancer called Squamous cell carcinoma and finally we have what I would consider to be the most well known form of skin cancer, which while it is the most lethal is also the rarest; malignant melanoma.

Although malignant melanoma is the rarest, because it is the deadliest, it is worth having a quick look at what it is. This cancer that is responsible for about 1 per cent of cancers is a tumor in the cells that create melanin, the melancytes. In case you wanted to know, melanin is the pigment that gives you your sun tan, and gives your skin the color it has normally. It is also responsible for the color of your eyes and your hair, which means that malignant melanoma, can also affect the eyes and not just the skin.

It is comforting to know that at least for now, skin melanomas are very uncommon in children, but because half of all the sun exposure the skin gets happens before the age of 18, and the time it needs to develop, it is critical to prevent your children from getting sunburns.

With growing pollution, diminishing ozone layer and more knowledge of what UV rays can actually do, there is a growing realization that sun exposure can be very bad for us and that we need to protect ourselves from these ultra violet lights. It is very clear that it is the sun that is causing the problems as the number of people with skin cancer varies depending on country, the tropical countries with large Caucasian populations having the highest incidents of skin cancer.

Countries like Australia, South Africa and southern American states with a lot of sunshine and Caucasian population have skin cancer incidences that are directly proportionate with the amount of sunlight and size of the Caucasian population.

Darker skin types like those of us with an African American or Asian background get better protection against the sunlight because of their darker skin coloring.

Ultra violet light is part of the sunshine and it is that light that is causing the problem. UV light come in different types, but they are all essentially bad for pale skin, and particularly babies and children are very much at risk because they have thinner skin than adults.

The instances of skin cancer have doubled every 10 years for the last 40 years. This ties in with when cheap vacations to sunnier climates were introduced and now that they are more widely available and sunbathing is such a popular past time, skin cancer instances are set to continue this rise unless people begin to take the necessary precautions to prevent getting burnt by the hot ultra violet rays from the sun.

Causes of Skin Cancer
The highest rate of skin cancer occurs in Australia. The rate of occurrence is so high, one in every two people develop it in some form or another. The main cause is unprotected exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and tanning machines. Although ultraviolet radiation cannot be felt or seen it can cause sunburn, early aging to the skin and damage to the skin that can lead to skin cancer.

Skin cancer is associated with a lifetime exposure of UV radiation and most parts of Australia have all year round high levels of ultraviolet radiation.

Even though skin cancer normally appears in older adults, the damage to the skin begins from an early age due to the UV exposure of the sun, such as sunburn.

Recent research has suggested that the white cells become damaged, often in childhood and the subsequent sun exposure in adulthood can trigger the cells to develop cancer.

Although anyone can develop skin cancer, the risks are increased if a person

• Does not protect their skin from the sun
• Has infrequent and intense exposures to the sun
• Spends a lot of time in the sun, such as working
• Was born or spent their childhood years in Australia
• Has had sunburn in childhood
• Has fair skin that freckles and burns easily without an easy tan
• Has fair or red hair with green or blue eyes
• Has solar keratoses (sun spots)
• Has a lot of moles
• Has an immune system that is compromised due to reasons such as being HIV positive or consumption of certain drugs following an organ transplant.

Those with dark or olive skin experience better protection from the sun due to the fact that they produce more melanin in the skin than people with fair skin. However, the ultraviolet radiation in the sun is stronger in Australia thus people with dark and olive skin need to protect their skin also.

You can protect your skin from cancer by:

• Keeping out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, when the sun is at its strongest. More than 60% of the sun’s radiation reaches the earth's surface during these hours.

• Using as much shade as possible, such as umbrellas, trees and buildings. Shades should be chosen carefully as ultraviolet radiation can bounce off surfaces such as water, concrete and sand which can cause sunburn

• Wear clothing that will cover you as much as possible, especially the back of your neck. Shirts should have long sleeves, trousers; skirts should cover all the legs. Woven fabric provides the best protection.

• Hats should be worn to protect the face, ears and neck and should have a brim that is at least 8-10cm.

• Sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 should be worn whenever in the sun. It should be water resistant and be applied at least 20 minutes before going into the sun and reapplied ever two hours or straight after swimming or sweating.

• Eyes should be protected with sunglasses

• Avoid tanning machines such as sun lamps

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