Skin cancer is a disease that receives more headlines and article column inches than ever before. Is this an indication that the disease is on the rise because people are more at risk to the causes of skin cancer. Or simply that the public information campaigns have made people more alert to spotting warning signs and getting them checked out by their doctors. The answer is probably a bit of both. So what causes skin cancer ? This article will answer this question and detail who is most at risk on getting the disease. Probably, the most commonly cited skin cancer cause is being exposed to sunlight for extended periods of time.
Do you remember when people used to boast about the great suntan they got during their vacation ? Well this thinking has largely fallen away now (or at least it should be falling away). You will find in regions in the world where the sun is particularly strong the idea of sun baking yourself every day has been replaced with the need to wear a shirt, hat, eye protection and a 30+ sun protection factor sunscreen. The fact is that, although everyone wants to spend a bit of time in the sun once in a while, too much sun on the skin will lead to skin cancer.
How much sun is too much is largely down to the individuals skin type. A person whose skin burns quickly in the sun is most at risk to skin cancer. The telltale signs of burning are the skin turning red, puffing up or peeling.
Ultimately it is sore to touch and may last a few days before the pain recedes. Pain is the body's way of saying something is wrong. People often ignore the pain to the long term detriment of the skin and health. A person that burns quicker generally has less melanin in the body. Melanin is a substance that produces color or pigmentation in the skin, eyes and hair. So people with less melanin will be characterized by fair hair - blond or red, light colored eyes - blue or green and pale skin.
People with no melanin at all have a condition knowns as Albinism. An Albino will have no color in the hair, eyes and skin. The purpose of melanin in the skin is to protect it from the causes of skin cancer by darkening it. Darkening, also known as a sun tan, helps the skin to resist burning and thus skin cancer. Without melanin a person would be at risk to the UV radiation that comes from the sun. Albinos are particularly at risk and must cover themselves well when in the sun.
Using equipment that leads to exposure to UV radiation is another way to increase the risk of skin cancer. The sunbed is a prime example of this. Many sunbeds are used to get that healthy tan all year round but too much of the sunbed is bad news for your skin. To finish, exposure to UV radiation will cause skin cancer. You should take action to avoid being exposed to UV radiation, most commonly by being exposed to the sun.
At all times, when in the sun you should wear a hat, clothing to protect your body, sunglasses and sunscreen on areas of the body that are nor concealed like the face.
For details on the physical signs of skin cancer and the types of skin cancer then see symptomsofskincancer.net
