By Maria Jauhar, M.D.
One price we pay for the leisure time and activities we enjoy outdoors is to be on the watch for skin cancer. Safer sun habits, knowing what to look for ourselves, and regular skin cancer screenings from a professional – these are practices that might save our lives, and are well worth adding to our self-care routine.
Fashion Sense and Common Sense
Hats have made a comeback among men, and they remain a go-to accessory for women. But with what we know now about the effects of lifetime sun exposure they’re a style worth considering for practical reasons, too. Choosing a great-looking hat and wearing it is a small price to pay for healthier skin and greater skin cancer protection.
Makeup with UV protection is today as good as any cosmetic-only style, and so it too is a fashion finding its way into the daily routine of smart women everywhere.
Saving Our Own Skins
Keeping a watchful eye on our own skins plays a vital role in skin cancer protection. Each type of common skin cancer has some characteristics we can learn to look for.
A visual once-over as part of our daily dressing routine is a big step in the right direction. Serious consequences of skin cancer come most often from not catching it in time.
The Most Important Step: A Regular Professional Screening
Good as it is, there’s a limit to how much protection you can get from self-inspection. Skin cancers don’t always appear with the same characteristics, so it’s hard to know everything to look out for. And some of the most vulnerable parts of our skin are in places we can’t see our selves.
That’s why periodic skin cancer screenings by a physician or medical professional are the key to knowing you have the best protection and preventive care.
In a physician’s screening you can catch early signs of the most common – and the most dangerous – forms of skin cancer. Here’s just a sample of what your doctor is looking for.
1. Basal Cell Cancer: One of the most common skin cancers is basal cell cancer. It affects about three million people annually in the U.S., and the cumulative effects of sun exposure are reflected in the ages of patients, with most cases occurring after age 40. Our basal cells are useful throughout life because they produce new skin cells as old ones die. When they become cancerous, it can appear as a scaly patch or a white, waxy lump, sometimes with a rolled border.
2. Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Squamous cell carcinomas are persistent scaly patches with irregular borders. They sometimes crust and bleed when scraped or bumped. Just as common as basal cell cancer, squamous cell carcinoma is also influenced by too much sun or tanning-lamp exposure, and light-skinned people are at greater risk because skin pigment has a protective effect.
3. Melanoma: A change in an existing mole, or an unusual new growth anywhere on the body, can signal melanoma, considered the most serious form of skin cancer. Spotting melanoma early is so important that professionals have developed “the ABCDE’s” of detecting it: Asymmetry, Border, Color, Diameter, Evolving. Learn more at skincancer.org.
The Importance of a Professional Eye
Though these descriptions of how cancers commonly appear are intended to help encourage self-examination, it’s important to know that skin cancer often doesn’t “follow the rules.” Regular screenings from a medical professional are our best assurance of coming out ahead, and early detection is the key. If you have concerns, please schedule an appointment with us by calling 912.897.6832 or use our online appointment request form.
