Cancer Essays (558 words) - Sun Tanning, Sunscreen, Sunburn

Cancer Cancer is a word used to describe a group of diseases. Each has its own name, its own treatment, and its own chances of being cured. Each is different from the others in many ways, but every cancer, whatever its called or whatever part of the body it is located in, is a disease of the body`s cells. Skin cancer is the most prevalent of all cancers, and its increasingly common. About a million Americans will develop skin cancer in a year. It is a disease in which cancer cells are found in the outer layers of skin. Skin protects the body against heat, light, infection, and injury. It also stores water, fat, and vitamin D. Skin cancer is quite curable when treated early. More than ninety percent of skin cancers are completely cured. Its also largely preventable, simply by avoiding sun and sun exposure. Sunscreen is the most common defense against skin cancer. However, only two in five people consistently use sunscreen whenever they`re in the sun. cancer can and will spread if not caught early. Developing skin cancer is at least a two-step process, involving initiation and promotion of malignant growth. Studies have shown that UV harms a mechanism for repairing cell damage. Once the repair system is impaired, cells become increasingly vulnerable to injury. Subsequent UV exposures make it worse, and can initiate malignancy. After UV exposure, the repair mechanism normally directs damaged cells to commit suicide. That is why skin peels after a sunburn. However, previously damaged cells with a malfunctioning repair system escape this process. Genetic damage accumulates as normal cells die and abnormal ones survive. Its been determined that skin does not have to be burned to be damaged, and such damage accumulates with chronic, everyday exposure. Two types of UV radiation reach the earth, UVA and UVB. Both contribute to skin damage, including skin cancer. There are no "safe" UV rays. But the SPF sunscreen numbering system was devised as a guide to protect against sunburn, which is caused mostly by UVB rays. Because sunscreens allow one to stay out in the sun longer without burning, exposure to UVA rays is increased, and many sunscreens don`t protect against these rays. While sunscreens protect against sunburn, they don`t necessarily prevent cancer. If one uses sunscreens to spend more time in the sun, the skin could collect about the same total exposure to damaging radiation. Skin cancer is more common in people with light colored skin who have spent a lot of time in the sunlight. Skin cancer can occur anywhere on the body, but it is most common in places that have been exposed to more sunlight, such as the face, neck, hands, and arms. Skin cancer can look many different ways. The most common sign of skin cancer is a change on the skin, such as a growth or a sore that won`t heal. Sometimes there may be a small lump. This lump can be smooth, shiny and waxy looking, or it can be red or reddish brown. Skin cancer may also appear as a flat red spot that is rough or scaly. Americans have to consider more about tanning, and skin cancer. And know what really causes the skin cancer, and also know how it looks so before it gets really serious, you could cure when it is actually curable. Its time to take a good thinking about a cancer you might get from sunlight. Do not expose to much out in sunlight, whenever you feel lumps on your skin consider seeing doctors.