Common Skin Cancers and How to Reduce Your Risks

It is always fun to step out in the sun and enjoy the great weather after a long stretch of winter or rainy season.

On the other hand, people living in a sunny state also enjoy the pleasant weather all year. Sunny conditions can often be too hot to bear, but stepping out and enjoying the weather during the evening becomes enjoyable.

While it may be fun to go to the beach to get tanned or enjoy a weekend barbecue with friends under the glistening sun, it can also prove dangerous.

The UV rays can cause tremendous skin damage, and in the long run, they can also lead to skin cancer. It happens when abnormal cells are grown in the skin, which often happens because of overexposure to the sun’s harmful rays. If one suspects one might have this, one can visit a skin cancer clinic to detect the ailment early.

However, even the areas of the body that are less exposed to the sun are also susceptible to skin cancer.

There are various types of this disease, and here are the most common ones.

1. Basal cell carcinoma

This type begins in the outer layer of the skin and affects the basal cells.

Herein the basal cells can develop bumps or brown scars, which can often indicate the beginning of the ailment.

People must consult a physician if they see any scars appearing on their bodies without a wound or a cut.

2. Squamous cell carcinoma

It is also a type that affects the epidermis. If a person suffers from this ailment, their skin may develop flat lesions, crusty surfaces, or firm-red nodules.

3. Melanoma

Melanoma is the most common and terminal one. The symptoms are quite a lot.

For instance, dark specials, brown spots, moles, red lesions, and dark lesions on various body parts are some of the common signs of melanoma.

What can you do to reduce your risks?

The best possible way to reduce the risk of skin cancer is to avoid stepping out in the sun without shade during peak afternoon hours or at least till 4 pm.

• Applying sunscreen is the most effective way to protect yourself from the harmful effects of the sun. It is a misconception that you need sunscreen only in summers or when you go to the beach. You should consider using a sunscreen of SPF30+ irrespective of the weather. On days when you are stepping out, you should wear a more vital sunscreen such as SPF50+.

• Wear clothing that limits your exposure to the sun. Consider putting on a hat and full sleeve clothing to protect your body.

• You should avoid going to indoor tanning booths as they use high-factor UV rays for tanning the epidermis.

If you observe any significant changes in your skin or pigmentation, you must schedule an appointment at a skin cancer clinic to detect cancer and begin its treatment.

Regular checkups at a clinic are even more critical for people who might have more exposure to UV rays, have a lighter tone, moles, sunburns, weak immune system, and live in a high-altitude region.

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