| Family
Living
Healthy
Life Style
Sunscreen,
ultraviolet radiation and exposure to the sun Bad
news: Skin cancer is almost as prevalent as all other cancers
combined.
Good news:
90% of skin cancers are cured when treated early.
More good
news: Skin cancer is largely preventable by avoiding sun exposure
and sunlamps.
Sun Sense
- Avoid
intense sun between 10 A.M. and 2 P.M.
- Wear a
board-brimmed hat, shirt and long pants if possible.
- Wear UV-blocking
sunglasses; check label.
- Use a
sunscreen rated SPF 15. Slightly greater protection is offered
by SPF 30 and may be useful for children or the very fair-skinned.
Repeat applications every 2 hours or so.
- Use a
lip balm rated SPF 15 for higher.
- Avoid
long exposure to the sun. Sunburn at any age increases the risk
of skin cancer.
A low fat
diet has been found to be helpful in preventing skin cancer. A
diet composed of foods where not more than 20% of the caloric
intake was from fat resulted in a lower incidence of skin cancer.
Those who ate a typical American diet (35-40% of calories from
fat) were five times as likely to develop skin cancer than those
eating a low fat diet.
A very informative
report on sun exposure and skin cancer can be found at:
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/695_skincanc.html
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