Could You Be at Risk for Skin Cancer?

Beach time, biking, and fishing are all popular when you live in Florida.

Yet with our state known affectionately as the Sunshine State, there’s also another popular pastime: getting skin cancers removed.

In fact, more people in the U.S. are diagnosed with skin cancer each year than all other cancers combined, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Twenty percent of Americans (1 in 5) will develop skin cancer by the age of 70.

In Florida, 37.7% of white adults in Florida had at least one sunburn in the past year, the Environmental Protection Agency reports. Sunburns are one of the most significant factors related to the development of future skin cancer.

Watching out for skin cancer should be an important part of your health checks every year. Although many types of skin cancer are harmless, the deadly kind, called melanoma, is expected to kill 9,320 people in 2018, the Skin Cancer Foundation reported. About 178,650 people will be diagnosed with melanoma in the U.S. in 2018.

Here are a few more facts about melanoma:

One person dies of melanoma every hour.

A study in the U.K. found that 86% of melanomas can be linked to sun exposure.

The sooner that melanoma is treated after a biopsy, the greater chance a person has of not dying from it.

When melanoma is detected early, the 5-year survival rate is 99%, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. However, that lowers to 63% when the disease reaches the lymph nodes and 20% when the disease spreads to distant organs.

4 Tips to Avoid Too Much Sun Exposure and Lower Your Skin Cancer Risk

Although we’re fortunate in Florida to have year-round sun, you have to take steps to lower your risk for skin cancer, which often develops years after sun exposure. Here are four tips to help protect your skin.

1. Check your skin monthly for unusual moles or blemishes. If you look at your skin regularly, you’ll know what is normal or abnormal for you, according to the American Cancer Society. Ask your doctor how often he or she recommends that you have skin checks from a health professional, such as a dermatologist. Some may recommend starting them at a certain age or once you’ve had a diagnosed skin cancer. Many times, exams are recommended every 6 months after you’ve had skin cancer before.

2. Perform regular skin exams even if you have darker skin. Skin cancer is on the rise among blacks and Hispanics, and it often develops into melanoma because it goes undetected. Everyone is at risk for skin cancer, no matter who dark their skin is naturally.

3. Wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. Reapply every 2 hours and after sports or swimming.

4. Wear protective clothing. It may be fun to show off that new swimsuit, but it’s not fun if your skin gets overexposed and you end up with a bad burn. Make use of wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses, and protective shirts, cover-ups, and shorts/pants at the beach or the pool.

Call Secure Aging to Find Out How We Can Help Seniors With Financial Management

At Secure Aging in Bradenton, we transform the weight of the world into a sigh of relief for our senior clients and their concerned family members. The mission of Secure Aging is to protect and preserve our client’s independence and dignity through careful and thoughtful financial and care management. As our clients age, it is their desire to remain independent and age with dignity. Our services protect our clients from talented con artists looking to exploit and deplete the financial resources of our vulnerable seniors. Secure Aging helps families in Manatee County and Sarasota County and in and around the communities of Anna Maria, Bradenton, Bradenton Beach, Ellenton, Holmes Beach, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat Key, Myakka City, Palmetto, Parrish, and Sarasota. Call us at 941-761-9338, or visit us online at www.secureaging.com.

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