Introduction
Information on skin cancer would not be complete without an appeal to you to consider the following thoughts on prevention of skin cancer.
I have attempted to point out how important it is to diagnose skin cancer early to prevent, particularly in the case of squamous cell carcinoma, the general spread of the cancer throughout the body. I like to take this thought one step further and reason with you that it is even better to prevent pre cancerous skin lesions and skin cancer by avoiding the factors that we already know cause cancer. At this point we cannot do much about genetic factors. But if we have a type I skin, then we can develop a habit of applying a suntan lotion with a high SPF of 30 or more, which means that it would take 30 times as long to burn the skin as normally.
Patients who have acne or psoriasis can ask their physician about alternatives to tar soap and benzoyl peroxide, which play an important part in the initiation and promotion stages of skin cancer as mentioned earlier.
Fair skinned people
Fair skinned white people (skin type I to III) must take more precautions to stay away from direct sun exposure and I would suggest to them to avoid, if possible, the hours between 11:00AM to 2:00PM to cut down on the total UV light exposure over a life time, which seems to be an important parameter for skin cancer risk. Newer research has shown that a tropical fern taken as a supplement can block 75% or more of the IR waves (infrared radiation) of sunlight that causes wrinkles and aging of the skin as well as skin cancer. Both UVA and UVB blocking sun blockers will not block IR from reaching the deeper layers of skin. Read about this in my anti-aging blog.
Prevention Of Skin Cancer
Avoidance of high risk behavior regarding prevention of AIDS and HPV transmission can also help reduce the risk for skin cancer as mentioned above. It may even be that with these recommended preventative simple steps you may never get skin cancer. Should you ever get a strange skin lesion that you never had before, take it serious enough to seek medical advise from your doctor and follow the steps outlined above.
References:
1. Kripke ML, Sass ER,eds.”Antigenicity of murine skin tumors induced by UV light”.JNCI 1974;53:1333-1336.
2. Kripke ML. “Immunology and photocarcinogenenis”. J. Am. Acad.Dermatol. 1986;14:149-155.
3. Potter M.”Percivall Pott’s contribution to cancer research”. NCI Monogr.1963;10:1.
4. COMS Group: Collaborative ocular melanoma study manual of procedures. National Technical Information Service. Springfield,VA, 1989.
5. Cancer: Principles &Practice of Oncology. 4th edition. Edited by Vincent T. DeVita, Jr. et al. Lippincott, Philadelphia,PA, 1993. Chapter on Cancer of the skin.
6. Cancer: Principles&Practice of Oncology. 5th edition, volume 2. Edited by Vincent T. DeVita, Jr. et al. Lippincott-Raven Publ., Philadelphia,PA, 1997. Chapter on Cancer of the skin.
7. Conn’s Current Therapy 2004, 56th ed., Copyright © 2004 Elsevier
8. Ferri: Ferri’s Clinical Advisor: Instant Diagnosis and Treatment, 2004 ed., Copyright © 2004 Mosby, Inc
