Skin Cancer

9.PCH.1.6 Recognize the early warning signs of skin cancer and the importance of early detection

Identify two early warning signs of skin cancer.

Explain the importance of early detection

Key Terms

Skin Cancer: the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer

Moles: growths on the skin that are usually brown or black. Moles can appear anywhere on the skin, alone or in groups.

Melanoma: The most dangerous form of skin cancer These cancerous growths develop when unrepaired DNA

damage to skin cells (most often caused by ultraviolet radiation from sunshine or tanning beds) triggers mutations that lead the skin cells to multiply rapidly and form malignant tumors

Key Terms

Basal cell carcinoma: the most common type of skin cancer. It rarely metastasizes (spreads)

Squamous cell carcinoma: another form of skin cancer

Biopsy: the removal of a small piece of tissue for laboratory examination

Metastasis: the spread of a disease from one organ or part to another

How Tanning Happens

The sun's rays contain two types of ultraviolet radiation that reach your skin: UVA and UVB.

UVB radiation burns the upper layers of skin, causing sunburns.

UVA radiation is what makes people tan. UVA rays penetrate to the lower layers of the skin

to produce melanin. Melanin is the brown pigment that causes tanning.

How Tanning Happens

Melanin is the body's way of protecting skin from burning.

Darker-skinned people tan more deeply than lighter-skinned people because they produce more melanin.

Just because a person doesn't burn does not mean that he or she is also protected against skin cancer and other problems.

Do African Americans need to wear sunscreen?

The answer is YES!

UVA rays

Make you tan, but they can also cause serious damage.

Penetrate deep into the skin, where blood vessels and nerves are found.

Can damage the immune system, making it harder to fight off diseases and leading to illnesses like melanoma the most serious (and deadly) type of skin cancer

Melanoma can kill. If it's not found and treated, it can quickly spread from the skin to the body's other organs.

Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is an epidemic in the United States

More than 1 million new cases diagnosed annually

In the past, melanoma mostly affected people in their fifties or older, but today dermatologists see patients in their twenties and even late teens with this type of cancer.

UVB rays

Doctors believe UVB rays play a role in the development of melanoma.

That's because a sunburn or intense sun exposure may increase a person's chances of developing this deadly cancer.

Exposure to UVB rays also increases your risk of getting two other types of skin cancer: Basal Cell Carcinoma Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Treatment

The main treatment for skin cancers is excision Cutting the tumors out.

Since many basal or squamous cell carcinomas are on the face and neck, surgery to remove them can leave people with facial scars.

The scars from surgery to remove melanomas can be anywhere on the body, and they're often large.

Helpful Tips

Wear sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 every day Even on cloudy days and when you don't plan on

spending much time outdoors Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen that blocks both UVA

and UVB rays Apply sunscreen thickly and frequently Reapply sunscreen every 1½ to 2 hours and after

swimming or sweating Take frequent breaks.

Suns rays are strongest between 10AM and 4PM