Skin Cancer Awareness Month: Screening out the bad rays

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Bonnie Grantham
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Nearly 5 million people in the United States are treated for skin cancer each year, and in the past three decades more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, and during this time it is important to develop habits that can prevent skin cancer and also learn the facts and how to screen for skin cancer.

"It's really important to monitor your skin from head to toe throughout the year to look for any suspicious lesions," said Lt. Col. Joanne Ruggeri, 319th Medical Group chief of health care integrations. "You have to take note of any new moles or growths that begin to develop or change significantly in size."

The most common forms of skin cancer are squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma, said Capt. (Dr.) Garrett Parker, 319th Medical Operations Squadron general medical officer. These are named after the layers of skin that they inhabit.

The third type of skin cancer is melanoma. Melanoma can progress quickly and become metastatic, which means it can spread to other sites in the body. It is the deadliest form of skin cancer, depending on how long it has gone unnoticed and how deep into the skin it is embedded.

"If you have a superficial melanoma that's just growing right on the surface, that one can be cut out," said Parker. "If you have one that's even a few millimeters that's grown down, which can happen in a few months, then your chance of five-year survival plummets."

When scanning for skin cancer, specifically melanoma, there are five factors to take into account: asymmetry, border, color, diameter and evolving.

· Asymmetry: "If you draw a line in the middle of the mole and the two halves are not alike, there could be a problem there with the change in its shape," said Ruggeri.
· Border: The borders of early melanoma tend to be uneven, and the edges may be scalloped or notched.
· Color: If the mole has a variety of colors, or is red, blue or some other color, that could be an indication of melanoma as well.
· Diameter: "If it's bigger than a pencil eraser, and if it starts to get bigger in size, then that's a sign," said Ruggeri.
· Evolving: Any change in size, shape, color, elevation or any new symptoms such as bleeding, itching or crusting points to danger.

One of the best ways to prevent skin cancer is to stay out of the sun's rays, especially from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"If your shadow is shorter than you are, then chances are you're in some of the sun's most harmful rays," said Parker.

If you can't avoid the sun between those times, then you should be wearing a hat, sunglasses and either a long-sleeve shirt or sunscreen.

Another important step to preventing skin cancer is to kick the tanning bed habit. According to www.skincancer.org, one indoor UV tanning session increases users' risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma by 67 percent and basal cell carcinoma by 29 percent. People who use tanning beds before the age of 35 are 75 percent more likely to get melanoma. More people develop skin cancer because of tanning than develop lung cancer because of smoking.

"Some states are thinking of outlawing tanning beds because they're so harmful," said Parker. "You're not guessing about the harm [they cause], it's been proven."

In the past three decades, the number of cases of skin cancer has risen, specifically instances of melanoma. Melanoma is responsible for 75 percent of skin cancer deaths, according to Parker.

"The only thing that doctors know right now to prevent skin cancer is to avoid UV exposure; stay out of the sun and stay out of tanning beds," said Parker. "Supervisors should take these recommendations to heart and remind their Airmen."

For more information about skin cancer, talk to your healthcare provider or visit www.cancer.org or www.skincancer.org.