Sun Damage Prevention

In our continuing efforts to maintain youthful skin, we cannot neglect what may be the one true beauty secret. Effective protection from the sun can prevent damage to the skin. Even without actual sunburn, exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun can cause wrinkles, age spots, skin cancer, and other generally weathering effects. By avoiding proper sun protection, you will impede or counteract any anti-aging treatments that you have invested time and money into trying to achieve beautiful skin.

Skin care tips for maintaining young skin in spite of the damaging effects of the environment can be as simple as remembering to look for skin care products such as face creams and cosmetics that already include a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. This can cut out a step in your morning routine by not having to apply a separate sunscreen. Look for a product that is paba-free, especially for sensitive skin, to avoid stinging. Sunscreen should be used every day, not just days when you expect to spend an extraordinary amount of time outside or only on sunny days. UV rays are still damaging coming in through many types of windows and may even be worsened by cloudy days. Also, keep in mind that water, sand, and snow will reflect sun rays and may burn parts of the skin that are not protected.

While sunscreen can help filter out the UV rays and allow you more time outside than without protection, it cannot completely prevent a sunburn if you spend an excessive amount of time in direct sunlight, if you are not extra cautious about re-applying, or is you have sensitive skin. Some women find that they burn more easily while on hormone replacement therapy, while taking hormone-altering birth control pills, or at various stages of the regular menstrual cycle. In the case of sunburn, soothing creams or all natural skin care such as aloe vera can be helpful in relieving discomfort. Drink a lot of water and watch for infection. Avoid sun exposure between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm when the rays are their strongest. Repeated sunburn or regular exposure to strong sun over many years breaks down the elastic tissues in the skin and makes it look prematurely old and wrinkled.

Remember that any exposure to sun or heat will worsen dry skin or psoriasis. Always gently clean the skin and moisturize it - many of the best skin care products will contain ingredients such as aloe vera or vitamin E that will cool and moisturize. Proper protection from the sun can provide years of youthful skin that far exceed your tan friends and neighbors.



About the Author
John Russell of IH Distribution, LLC brings you health, anti-aging and skin care products from around the world. Find fabulous skin care tips and great articles on a wide range of topics for women at http://www.hormones-beauty-health.com

Skin Cancer Treatment - What Are The Options

Everybody loves spending time outdoor on a hot summer day. Whether it is at the local swimming pool or just trying to get that perfect tan, too much sun is bad for your skin. If you are exposed to too much of the harmful ultraviolet sunrays, you can develop not only a really bad sunburn, but it may also lead to skin cancer.

Skin cancer is something most people don't even think about because they think that it won't ever happen to them, but the truth is that it can happen to anybody. The good thing about skin cancer is that the symptoms directly affect the skin so it is very easy to detect in the early stages. Seeking a proper skin cancer treatment at these early stages increases the prognosis of this disease.

There are several types of skin cancer treatment commonly used to treat skin cancer. Which treatment method used is dependent on where the cancer is and at what stages of its development. Most skin cancers can be effectively treated by the removal of the skin lesion and making sure that the edges of the lesion are free from tumor cells. This is probably the most effective treatment and cure for both the early and high-risk skin cancer patients. For a lot of low risk skin cancer patients, a mix of radiation therapy and cryotherapy (or freezing) will be used to treat and control this disease. The downside of this treatment method is that the curing rate is much lower than removal by the surgical method.

One common surgical treatment of skin cancer is a technique called the Moh's Microsurgery. This is a technique where the cancer is removed with the least amount of surrounding tissue and then the edges are immediately checked for any remaining traces of the tumor. This technique is good because it removes the least amount of healthy tissue and is ideal for people who have developed cancer in places where there are not much tissue to spare, for example, the face. The only limitation to this technique is that there are very few of these specialists available. You may have to spend some time locating such a specialist. If the disease begins to spread into other areas, other treatment like chemotherapy might have to be implemented.

Skin cancer is one of those diseases that is not only harmful to your health but is also not very good cosmetically. There are several treatments out there that are able to remove the cancerous lesions while still keeping your skin cosmetically appealing. However, in more serious cases, keeping healthy is more important than looking good.



About the Author
If you suspect you may have contacted skin cancer, do consult your doctors immediately to seek medical advice on the best skin cancer treatment available to treat and control the disease. You can learn more about skin cancer treatment at www.cancer-tumor.info

Skin Cancer

Whenever we hear the word ‘cancer’ we are apt to panic. The term itself has become an umbrella for many different forms of the disease including skin cancer.

Skin cancer is a form of caner that affects the skin. There are several different types of skin cancer and some forms are more dangerous than others.

The two most common types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Both of these types of skin cancer can be serious in terms of changing the appearance of the skin affected, but they are not likely to spread to any surrounding tissue in the body.

Another type of skin cancer that is considered more serious is malignant melanoma. In terms of occurrence, this type of skin cancer is rarer than the others. However when it does occur early treatment is mandatory to ensure the greatest chance of survival.

Skin cancer has become much more common in recent years. This is mainly due to the fact that medical research has indicated that exposure to the damaging rays of the sun can increase a person’s chances of getting the disease, considerably.

Before the advent of all of the sun screens that offer UV protection, many people would sit in the sun for hours. Sun bathing was very popular and people would sit exposed to the sun rays oblivious to the fact that they might be setting themselves up for a case of skin cancer later in life.

Research now suggests that each time a person receives sunburn or even a dark suntan they are increasing their risk of developing skin cancer by 50%. This is troubling to people who enjoyed basking in the sun when they were young.

There are some things that a person can do to treat skin cancer early. One is to be aware of any and all markings on your body. This means regularly checking your skin, including your back, for any new growths or changes in moles. If you notice any ulcers on the skin that do not heal or any discoloration of the skin it’s wise to seek out a professional opinion.

In the case of basal cell carcinoma, the skin cancer will appear as a raised bump on the skin. Although not reddish in color, in some cases you will be able to see blood vessels within the growth. If you are suffering from squamous cell carcinoma than the growth will be reddish in color; it may also be in the form of an ulcer which doesn’t heal.

The most serious form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, has a brownish or black color to them. Quite often they appear and you might consider it to be a new mole. It’s important to realize that new moles do not grow on adults and if you notice a new growth that is dark in color it is most likely skin cancer.

Another indication that you have this most serious form of skin cancer is that an existing mole has changed. The shape of color of it may be different and in this case it’s important that you seek out medical treatment as soon as possible.

The minor forms of skin cancer normally require treatment by surgery. The affected area is removed during a surgical procedure. If you have a minor skin cancer your oncologist will explain the procedures and the risks involved to you.

If the skin cancer has gone untreated or you are suffering from malignant melanoma, the treatment is significantly different. Skin cancer in this situation may have spread to surrounding organs or into the lymphatic system.

Your oncologist is the person who is best qualified to explain and discuss all treatment options with you.

About the Author
Skin Resources and Information around it

Skin Cancer Slowed With Skin Treatments

From the desk of Dr. Magne, author of Cancer Free For Life

Acid skin peel, and laser resurfacing, all remove precancerous skin growths and slow skin cancer -- but patients prefer the peel.

Precancerous growths, which are small areas of discrete roughness to the skin, come from too much sun. Particularly when a person has a lot of them, they tend to become squamous cell carcinomas: skin cancer.

Doctors often burn off these growths, called actinic keratoses, with liquid nitrogen. But there's evidence of other ways of removing them work at least as well, and they slow the development of skin cancer.

These techniques were compared in 24 men. The patients had an average age of 73; all but three had previously had skin cancers removed. Five similar patients served as an untreated comparison group.

Before treatment, the 24 men had dozens of precancerous facial growths. The researchers treated the men with laser resurfacing, or an acid skin peel. All treatments worked, reducing the number of precancerous skin growths 89% for the skin peel, and 92% for the laser. The treatments also seemed to slow the development of new skin cancers.

Left untreated, the patients would be expected to develop 1.7 new facial skin cancers a year. That's close to what happened in the untreated comparison group. But the treated patients had only 0.04 to 0.22 new skin cancers per year.

In the acid peel arm, one cancer per 26.1 years would be expected, compared with 1 cancer per 6.79 and 4.77 years in the laser arms. The untreated comparison group had 1.57 new cancers per year: that is, one new cancer every eight months. The patients who got the acid peel were much more compliant with treatment, and had fewer side effects than those treated with laser.

Repeated treatments may be needed. In any case, patients with precancerous facial growths must get careful follow-up care. Because the study had several limitations -- including its small size, infrequent use of sunscreen, and a control group that was not randomly picked -- the researchers warn that their findings must be confirmed in larger studies.

Still, of interest is to note that there are alternative treatments to skin cancer, and even though reasonably invasive, they show fewer long-term side effects than the traditional approaches of chemotherapy or burning.

About the Author
Dr Laurence Magne Publisher, Author Cancer Free For Life Email : lmagne@yahoo.com Website : http://cancer-free-for-life.com

What Is Squamous Cell Skin Carcinoma Skin Cancer?

A squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer is a type of skin cancer that usually results from a long term sun damage or exposure to ultra-violet rays to the skin.

Squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer spreads gradually and also has the capacity to spread to tissues near the affected area such as the eye. The cancer can also spread to distant parts of the body in case, it is not treated on time.

The best and the only way to make sure if a skin growth is cancerous is to go for a biopsy. The process involves removal of a small section of the skin. Thereafter a pathologist analyzes it under the microscope in a medical laboratory.

Remember that a biopsy is not a process to remove cancer. It just works towards taking off the tip of the cancer.

In some cases the skin tends to heal once the biopsy is done as it grows over the cancer. However, this does not indicate that the cancer is removed completely. Here, the cancer is only covered with a blanket of skin.

In case, the cancer is not removed fully, it can get deeper in to the skin and even metastasize to the internal organs of the body resulting in death of a human being.

Squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer is known to be one of the most common forms of skin cancer. It is shocking but true that over 25,000 new cases have been reported in a year in the United States alone. The cancer originates from the squamous cells that are most of the portion of the upper layer of the skin.

All cases of squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer are not serious. If detected early and treated promptly, one can easily survive this disease. However, if not treated properly, the disease can prove to be very hard to treat and can even result in disfigurement.

There are several causes of the origination of squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer. Some of these include the following:

i)Frequent and long exposure to harmful sun rays. This result in severe skin damage and ultimately develop in to squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer.

ii)The damage to the skin done by sun is the most responsible factor for development of this type of cancer. The face is most exposed to sun and the cancer spreads to the other parts of the body.

iii)Light skinned people have greater risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer.

iv)People who have already developed this cancer are said to develop more.

Chronic exposure to the sun is the main cause of this type of cancer. The tumor invades to body parts such as face, neck, bald scalp, hands, shoulders, arms and back that are more exposed to sun. The lower lip and the rim of the ear are more vulnerable to these cancers.

Squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer may also develop due to certain types of injury such as scars, burns, long existing sores, sites exposed to X-rays or some harmful chemicals, such as arsenic of by-products of petroleum.

Reduced immunity is also one of the main reasons for the spread of this type of cancer. Detect and treat early to stay away from possible damage and full recovery.

About the Author
For more Articles, News, Information, Advice, and Resources about SKIN CANCER please visit SKIN CANCER REPORT

Types Of Skin Cancer - Spotting Melanoma And Carcinoma Skin Cancers

If you had skin cancer, would you know it?

For many people, the answer to this question is no. They don't know how to look for signs of skin cancer on their own skin. Because of this, if they get skin cancer, they may not spot it promptly.

Most types of skin cancer can be treated quickly and easily if they are found early. But if the diagnosis is delayed, the cancer can spread. In the case of melanoma, this can be fatal. Even for less serious skin cancers, such as the very common basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, delayed detection can lead to complications.

So how do you spot skin cancer? The key is knowing your own skin and being aware of changes in it.

The best way to do this is to learn how to do a complete skin self-examination. To do this, you need a full-length mirror, a hand mirror, and a place where you can use them in privacy. Stand in front of the full-length mirror and look carefully at the skin on every part of your body that you can see. Get to know your moles, marks, and other skin irregularities. Then, use the hand mirror to help you look at the places on your body that you can't see with just one mirror. Again, take note of any marks that you see.

Once you're familiar with what your skin normally looks like, you'll be prepared to spot changes. Any new change in your skin should be brought to the attention of a doctor, preferably a dermatologist (a doctor who specializes in treating skin problems). Most changes will turn out not to be skin cancer, but it's worth the trouble of having them checked out.

Changes that you should particularly look for, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, include the following:

- A sore that never really heals
- A translucent growth, perhaps with rolled edges
- A dark streak under one of your fingernails or toenails
- A cluster of shiny pinkish or reddish areas that grows slowly
- A scar with a waxy feel to it
- A flat or slightly depressed area that feels hard

When you're looking at your skin, it's especially important to examine all moles carefully. Most moles are perfectly normal, but it's possible for an unusual-looking mole to be a melanoma or to turn into a melanoma.

Normal, typical moles are usually small, uniform in color, and symmetrical (the two sides look the same). They have sharp, regular borders, and they are usually located on parts of your body that are exposed to the sun. Most of them first appear sometime between early childhood and age 40, and the moles on a particular person's body all tend to look the same. Moles that fit this description are of no concern.

Moles that should be brought to a doctor's attention include:

- Moles that are present at birth
- Moles that first appear during middle age or later
- Any mole that has changed in appearance
- Any mole that itches or bleeds
- Any mole that shows one of the "ABCD" signs of an atypical mole. Doctors use the ABCD mnemonic to help patients remember some of the differences between atypical moles and typical ones.

The four letters stand for the following:

"A" stands for "Asymmetry." A mole that is not symmetrical (that is, one in which one half doesn't look like the other half) is an atypical mole.

"B" stands for "Border Irregularity." A mole with a ragged or blurred edge or with notches in the edge is atypical.

"C" stands for "Color." A mole that contains a variety of different colors or shades is atypical.

"D" stands for "Diameter." A mole with a diameter larger than that of a pencil eraser is atypical.

All atypical moles - and any other skin changes or irregularities that concern you - should be examined by a doctor. Often, the doctor can tell just by looking (sometimes with the aid of a magnifying device called a dermatoscope) that the unusual-looking area is not skin cancer. In other instances, the doctor may need to perform a biopsy. This is a simple diagnostic test, performed in the doctor's office, in which a sample of the abnormal area is removed and sent to a laboratory to be examined under a microscope.

If you do spot an abnormality on your skin, there's no need to panic. Even if the abnormality turns out to be skin cancer (and it probably won't), it will almost certainly be curable. The important thing is to show the abnormality to a doctor promptly so that if it is skin cancer, it can be treated right away.

About the Author
There are many types of skin cancer ranging from melanoma skin cancer and basal cell carcinoma to squamous cell carcinoma. Know your skin to be able to identify atypical moles and new spots. Learn more on http://www.SkinCancerInfoLine.com.