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By the National Can?cer Institute
BETHESDA, Md., May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ ? You may have heard that peo?ple with light skin, light-colored hair, and blue or green eyes have a greater risk for devel?op?ing skin can?cer. But did you know that peo?ple with darker skin are at risk for skin can?cer too? ?It doesn?t mat?ter whether you con?sider your skin light, dark, or some?where in between?any?one can get skin can?cer.
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While skin can?cer is less com?mon among peo?ple with darker skin, it is often detected at later or advanced stages. In fact, data show that when His?pan?ics and other minor?ity Amer?i?cans are diag?nosed with melanoma, the most severe form of skin can?cer, it is usu?ally at a later stage, when the dis?ease is harder to?treat.
This later diag?no?sis occurs partly because many people?even doctors?have long assumed that the pig?ment melanin in darker skin can pro?tect against skin can?cer. How?ever, although melanin does help pre?vent sun?burns, the sun?s ultra?vi?o?let (UV) rays can still dam?age?skin.
Also, the sun isn?t the only cause of skin can?cer. That?s why skin can?cer may be found in places on your body that never see the sun. For exam?ple, you may be more likely to develop skin can?cer if you come into con?tact with cer?tain chem?i?cals or poi?sons, have scars or skin ulcers, or use med?i?cines or develop med?ical con?di?tions (such as HIV infec?tion) that sup?press the immune sys?tem. While fam?ily his?tory and genet?ics are risk fac?tors for skin can?cer in Cau?casian Amer?i?cans, these have not been stud?ied in peo?ple with darker skin.
It is impor?tant to iden?tify the signs and symp?toms of skin can?cer early.
?When skin can?cer is found early, it can be treated more eas?ily. A change on the skin is the most com?mon sign of skin can?cer. This may be any new mole or growth on the skin, a sore that doesn?t heal, or a change in an old growth. Check the skin on all sur?faces of your body, even in your mouth. Talk with your doc?tor if you see any changes on your skin that do not go away within a?month.
There are steps you can take to pro?tect your?self and pre?vent skin can?cer. ?
Avoid stay?ing out in the sun if you can, espe?cially in the mid?dle of the day, when the sun?s rays are strongest. If you work or play out?side, you should wear clothes that cover your arms and legs, a hat that shades your face and ears, and sun?glasses that fil?ter out UV light to pro?tect your?eyes.
Use sun?screen that has a sun pro?tec?tion fac?tor (SPF) of 15 or higher. You should use sun?screen prod?ucts that are labeled ?broad spec?trum? that can fil?ter both UVA and UVB rays. You should not use tan?ning beds, booths, or sun?lamps, because these machines also give off UV?rays.
It doesn?t mat?ter whether you con?sider your skin light, dark, or some?where in between? remem?ber, any?one can get skin can?cer. Start tak?ing care of your skin?today.
The National Can?cer Insti?tute has cre?ated a brochure that con?tains the facts you need to know to pro?tect your?self from skin can?cer. You can order Any?one Can Get Skin Can?cer at 1?800-4-CANCER (1?800-422?6237) or down?load a copy at http://www.cancer.gov/publications. Share it with your friends and fam?ily, so that you can all try to avoid skin can?cer and stay healthy.
NCI leads the National Can?cer Pro?gram and the NIH effort to dra?mat?i?cally reduce the bur?den of can?cer and improve the lives of can?cer patients and their fam?i?lies, through research into pre?ven?tion and can?cer biol?ogy, the devel?op?ment of new inter?ven?tions, and the train?ing and men?tor?ing of new researchers. For more infor?ma?tion about can?cer, please visit the NCI web site at www.cancer.gov or call NCI?s Can?cer Infor?ma?tion Ser?vice at 1?800-4-CANCER (1?800-422?6237).
SOURCE National Can?cer Institute
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http://www.cancer.gov
Arti?cle source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/anyone-can-get-skin-cancerlearn-how-to-protect-the-skin-youre-in-121897343.html
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