Now that the weather is warming up, many University students are wearing less clothing and showing more skin, often in an attempt to get a tan. However, some students may not realize the effects the sun can have on their skin.
May is Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month, and the University Health Center offers numerous tips on how to avoid the sometimes-deadly disease.
Most notably, University Health Center Nurse Practitioner Jolene Siemsen said people can wear sunscreen and avoid tanning beds. She said there is no need to wear sunscreen beyond a SPF of 15 because it doesn’t become much more effective.
Siemsen said she has seen some cases of skin cancer come through the health center over the years, including several cases of melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. Siemsen said she hopes students become more careful with their sun exposure and take better care of their skin.
Skin cancer, the most common form of cancer, can be classified as either melanoma or non-melanoma, according to the American Cancer Society’s Web site at www.cancer.org.
The site states melanoma can be a deadly form of skin cancer if it isn’t caught in its early stages, and it usually develops in areas not often exposed to the sun. Although it makes up only 4 percent of skin cancer cases each year, it causes about 79 percent of skin cancer deaths yearly, according to the Web site.
Siemsen said in the 1960s, the lifetime risk of developing melanoma was one in 600, but it dramatically increased to its current rate of one in 71. She added that 10 percent of melanoma cases occur because of the person’s family history.
Non-melanoma cancer occurs on the outer layer of skin and rarely spreads to other areas of the body, according to the American Cancer Society’s Web site. However, 1,000 to 2,000 people die from it annually in the United States. It also can lead to melanoma in the future, the site states.
Siemsen said people need to be concerned about skin cancer and exercise caution because the rate of skin cancer has increased 50 percent during the past 20 years in developed countries such as the United States.
She also said people with fair skin are at a higher risk to develop skin cancer, as well as people who suffered severe burns as an adolescent. She added that someone who has experienced five or more severe burns as an adolescent more than doubles his or her chance to get melanoma skin cancer.
Siemsen said adults should have at least one skin evaluation in their adult lives, especially if a person has a lot of freckles or moles.
She said to watch out for a mark that bleeds, oozes or feels irritated or inflamed, and to get it checked right away. She added that in some cases it is simply a mole on a part of the body that gets easily irritated by clothing.
Siemsen said the best way to avoid getting skin cancer is to avoid the sun as much as possible.
She advises students to limit their sun exposure during the peak hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. She also encourages students to avoid tanning beds because it causes damage to the skin over time.
“Tanning is not a healthy activity,” she said, adding that it can lead to brown spots on the skin and wrinkles.
University freshman Elizabeth Doyle said she avoids tanning beds.
“I think they’re horrible for your skin,” she said, adding that she is fair-skinned and wouldn’t be successful darkening her skin with a tanning bed.
Although she is fair, Doyle said she doesn’t wear sunscreen most of the time, adding that she knows she should. It especially becomes a worry for her because her dad had skin cancer; however, he was able to have it removed.
Siemsen encourages students concerned with moles or marks on their skin to make an appointment at the health center to have those spots examined.