melanoma •

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Skin cancer and melanoma can be prevented.

Many activities are being developed in order to prevent skin cancer after it has been decided that May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month.

Skin cancer is the most encountered form of cancer in U.S. because 5 million people need treatment every year. There are three types of skin cancer out of which one can be lethal. The first and the second most common types are squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma. The third one occurs rarely, but it is the most dangerous and aggressive one.

Fortunately, it consists of only 1 percent of all the skin cancer cases but it is the source of the highest mortality rate. Statistics of The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer showed that 1,174 people were diagnosed with melanoma in 2013 and 229 of them died.

According to Jerome Adams, State Health Commissioner, by protecting our skin, we can highly reduce the risk of skin cancer. We can do that by avoiding sun lamps, tanning beds and long exposure to the sun. Scientists established that the biggest skin cancer cause is the exposure to UV rays.

If someone gets sunburnt, it means he or she spent too much time exposed to UV rays. Unfortunately, over one in three Americans suffer from sunburns every year. As mentioned before, indoor tanning devices are a bad idea because over 400,000 cases of skin cancer of which 6,000 are melanomas are associated with indoor tanning in the U.S. every year.

Furthermore, Dr. Adams underlines that the conception of safe tan is false. If your skin is tanned, it means it’s damaged. Plus, people who use indoor tanning devices are more vulnerable to melanoma than the ones who don’t. People need to be educated so they can understand the danger of UV rays and the consequences of sun exposure.

The Surgeon General’s recommends people to use good sunscreen, wear sunglasses, hats, and long-sleeved pants and shirts. Plus, seeking shade during the hottest hours is crucial. Plus, in case someone develops the disease, early detection will prove to be vital.

Therefore, people are recommended to check their skin and visit their doctors on a regular basis, to prevent or detect skin cancer. A disease that is discovered early is easier to treat.

Image Source:Audubon Dermatology

Research continues on skin cancer.

A recent study has shown that “sunscreen gene” might be the key factor for skin cancer. This discovery can help scientist to develop new ways of treatment and prevention such as medications.

The primary cause of skin cancer is excessive tanning or too much exposure to the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. Researchers hope, that with the findings regarding the ‘sunscreen gene,’ they will be able in the future, to repair the effects of exposure to UV rays.

During the study, 340 melanoma patients were observed and after a series of laboratory experiments, the medical data analysis has led scientists to the ‘ultraviolet-resistant’ gene conclusion.

As it is already known, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S. and melanoma is the deadliest type. According to lead author Chengyu Liang, their team is trying to understand how this UV-resistant gene functions.

Moreover, they want to establish what kind of factors and processes determine the cells to repair themselves after they were damaged by the UV rays. If they find out the answers to these questions, then they could develop an efficient way of treatment that will fight back the skin cancer.

American Cancer Society statistics established that 90% of melanoma cases come from UV radiation. Plus, 10,000 patients from the U.S. die every year because of this disease. According to Liang, people who have low levels of the UV-resistant gene or the mutated UV-resistant gene are more vulnerable to melanoma and other types of skin cancer, especially if they rely too much on tanning and sunbathing.

However, scientists believe that it is too early to try and come up with a drug that could influence the repair function of the UV-resistant gene in the case of UV-damaged cells. According to them, the study must continue to collect enough information for future treatment.

For the moment, researchers were only capable of determining the connection between high risk of cancer and low levels of sunscreen gene. Therefore, they haven’t found an exact answer yet regarding the link between the risk of skin cancer development and the decreased levels of UV-resistant gene

According to American Cancer Society, about 3.3 million Americans are diagnosed with squamous and basal cell skin cancer types each year whereas 76,380 Americans are diagnosed with melanoma. Hopefully, the number of skin cancer casualties will drop off in the future.

Image Source:Beach Meter

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