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Advice on Skin Cancer Protection
Skin cancer is probably the most commonly found of all cancer types, and the incidence of skin cancer has been steadily rising over the last few decades. While it's impossible to prevent skin cancer there are certain definite risk factors which can be eliminated or controlled to significantly reduce the risk.
Most skin cancers are brought on due to high exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays. While the sun is the main source of such exposure, manmade sources, like tanning beds are also responsible.
The risk of developing skin cancer can be significantly reduced be following a few simple cautionary measures:
- reducing and avoiding unnecessary exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, particularly in the early years
- although fashionable to have a tan, avoiding sunburns would be wise as research has found that even sunscreens do not protect the skin from melanoma.
- during the time period of 10 am to 3pm, exposure to the sun would be best avoided as this is when there is the highest amount of radiation from the sun.
- wearing protective clothing, when outdoors can help a lot.
- broad-spectrum sunscreens that filter both UVA and UVB radiation can help a lot.
- sunscreen lotions with an SPF of 50 are also useful.
While UV exposure is generally regarded as the biggest risk factor in melanoma development, many argue about the link between the appearance of melanoma and moderate exposure to the sun.
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