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Is Skin Cancer Hereditary?
Dear Savvy Senior,
Dear Younger, Each year, around 100,000 Americans are diagnosed with melanoma, and about 7,500 people will die from it. While anyone can get it, those most often diagnosed are Caucasians, age 50 and older. And those with the highest risk are people with red or blond hair, blue or green eyes, fair skin, freckles, moles, a family history of skin cancer and those who had blistering sunburns in their youth.
Skin Exams Self-examinations done every month or so is also a smart way to detect early problems. Using mirrors, check the front and backside of your entire body, including the tops and undersides of your arms and hands, between your toes and the soles of your feet, your neck, scalp and buttocks. Be on the lookout for new growths, moles that have changed, or sores that don't heal, and follow the ABCDE rule when examining suspicious moles.
For more self-examination tips and actual pictures of what to look for, see SpotSkinCancer.org or use a skin cancer detection app like Miiskin.com, MoleMapper.org or SkinVision.com. In the spring and summer, there are also a variety of places that offer free skin cancer screenings, like the American Academy of Dermatology ( spotskincancer.org) and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery ( asds.net/skincancerscreening.aspx), which offer screenings done by volunteer dermatologists across the U.S.
Sun Protection For starters, when you go outside put-on broad-spectrum SPF 30, water-resistant sunscreen on both sunny and cloudy days. If you don't like the rub-on lotions, try the continuous spray-on sunscreens which are easier to apply and re-apply and less messy. Also, seek the shade when rays are most intense - between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. You can also protect your skin by wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and long sleeves and pants when possible. The best clothing options are tightly woven fabrics that help prevent the sun's rays from reaching your skin, or you can wash in an invisible shield sun protection into your clothes with SunGuard laundry additive (see sunguarduv.com). You can even buy a variety of lightweight clothing and hats that offer maximum UV protection in their fabric. Coolibar.com and SunPrecautions.com are two good sites that offer these products.
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