Transcript Skin Cancer - mspriorhealthpe

Skin Cancer
 9.PCH.1.6 Recognize the early warning signs of skin
cancer and the importance of early detection
 Identify two early warning signs of skin cancer.
 Explain the importance of early detection
Key Terms
 Skin Cancer: the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer
 Moles: growths on the skin that are usually brown or black.
 Moles can appear anywhere on the skin, alone or in groups.
 Melanoma: The most dangerous form of skin cancer
 These cancerous growths develop when unrepaired DNA
damage to skin cells (most often caused by ultraviolet
radiation from sunshine or tanning beds) triggers mutations
that lead the skin cells to multiply rapidly and form malignant
tumors
Key Terms
 Basal cell carcinoma: the most common type of skin
cancer. It rarely metastasizes (spreads)
 Squamous cell carcinoma: another form of skin cancer
 Biopsy: the removal of a small piece of tissue for
laboratory examination
 Metastasis: the spread of a disease from one organ or
part to another
How Tanning Happens
 The sun's rays contain two types of ultraviolet radiation that
reach your skin: UVA and UVB.
 UVB radiation burns the upper layers of skin, causing
sunburns.
 UVA radiation is what makes people tan.
 UVA rays penetrate to the lower layers of the skin to
produce melanin.
 Melanin is the brown pigment that causes tanning.
How Tanning Happens
 Melanin is the body's way of protecting skin from
burning.
 Darker-skinned people tan more deeply than lighterskinned people because they produce more melanin.
 Just because a person doesn't burn does not mean that
he or she is also protected against skin cancer and
other problems.
Do African Americans need to
wear sunscreen?
 The answer is YES!
UVA rays
 Make you tan, but they can also cause serious damage.
 Penetrate deep into the skin, where blood vessels and
nerves are found.
 Can damage the immune system, making it harder to
fight off diseases and leading to illnesses like
melanoma
 the most serious (and deadly) type of skin cancer
 Melanoma can kill. If it's not found and treated, it can
quickly spread from the skin to the body's other organs.
Skin Cancer
 Skin cancer is an epidemic in the United States
 More than 1 million new cases diagnosed annually
 In the past, melanoma mostly affected people in their
fifties or older, but today dermatologists see patients in
their twenties and even late teens with this type of
cancer.
UVB rays
 Doctors believe UVB rays play a role in the
development of melanoma.
 That's because a sunburn or intense sun exposure may
increase a person's chances of developing this deadly
cancer.
 Exposure to UVB rays also increases your risk of
getting two other types of skin cancer:
 Basal Cell Carcinoma
 Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Treatment
 The main treatment for skin cancers is excision
 Cutting the tumors out.
 Since many basal or squamous cell carcinomas are on
the face and neck, surgery to remove them can leave
people with facial scars.
 The scars from surgery to remove melanomas can be
anywhere on the body, and they're often large.
Helpful Tips
 Wear sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 every day
 Even on cloudy days and when you don't plan on spending
much time outdoors
 Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen that blocks both UVA and
UVB rays
 Apply sunscreen thickly and frequently
 Reapply sunscreen every 1½ to 2 hours and after swimming or
sweating
 Take frequent breaks.
 Suns rays are strongest between 10AM and 4PM