Summer Is Over But Skin Cancer Is Not!
06 Nov 2007 A new warning on skin safety was released by Crown Laboratories to draw attention to the fact that while summer is over, the high risk of skin cancer development is not.
"Many people still don't understand the difference between Ultraviolet-A rays (UVA) and Ultraviolet-B rays (UVB)," said Don Kilday, Doctor of Pharmacy and President of Crown Laboratories Inc., the manufacturer of the popular Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen, located in Johnson City, Tennessee. Kilday added, "UVA is just as strong during the winter months as during the summer months. No matter what the temperature is outside, there is always a risk of sun damage on unprotected skin."
Even though you may not be expecting sun damage during the winter season, the UVA rays are still strong and deeply penetrate exposed skin. Although most U.S. sunscreens protect consumers from the UVB spectrum, it's the UVA rays that are most harmful because they penetrate deeper into the tissue causing damage. Kilday notes that a true broad-spectrum sunscreen containing at least 6% Zinc Oxide, with an SPF of 30 or higher should be used on areas of the body that are not concealed by clothing. This helps prevent wrinkles, skin spots and the biggest concern, skin cancer.
Oral medications, such as antibiotics, etc. plus many skin care products containing Alpha Hydroxy acids, Retin-A and other ingredients also heighten the risk of sunburn from UVA exposure.
"The skin is very vulnerable to sun exposure year round," says Kilday. "Education and making sun safety a daily regimen 365 days a year are the best defense against skin cancer." In addition, a recent study published on Springer Link, suggests that UVB rays are strongest in summer, but that the more harmful UVA rays show no noteworthy seasonal variation and are equally as strong in the winter months as they are in the summer months.
According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer and there will be one million new cases diagnosed in the United States this year. New cases of the deadly form of Melanoma will account for around 59,940 cases and of that number 10,850 will account in death. When detected in the early stages, Melanoma is almost always curable. Preventing and detecting the early stages of skin cancer through education, protection and proper sun safety tips will save lives.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Sun Hat - Editor's Choice Award
November 7, 2007
Dear Editors’ Choice Winner:
Congratulations! The editors of Organic Gardening magazine have selected The Adventurer Hat as a winner of our 2007 Editors’ Choice Award.
The Editors’ Choice Awards are presented to the best products used in our season-long evaluations. Our respected panel of test gardeners extensive experience and rigorous field-testing, combined with Organic Gardening’s 65 years of heritage as a trusted gardening resource make these awards the most highly credible mark of quality for the companies and products chosen.
As a winner of our Editors’ Choice Award, your product has been recognized for superior design, materials and performance. All winners withstood extensive field-testing by our editors and test gardeners. As a result, those selected for this year’s award are among an elite few who enjoy the privilege of bearing this mark.
Of course, the real winners here are our readers—and your customers. Through the devotion to quality by your team and the dedication of our staff, together we’re creating and sustaining gardeners and ensuring a more enjoyable gardening experience.
Congratulations again on being named a 2007 Editors’ Choice Award recipient by Organic Gardening magazine. We look forward to helping you make the most of this award.
Sincerely,
Scott Meyer - Executive Editor
Zazel Loven - Senior Editor
From the reviewer:
The Adventure Hat does much more than provide some shade, Pam says. The lightweight fabric fully blocks the sunlight, protecting your face, nose, ears, and back of the neck from harmful rays. "I love this hat," says the usually restrained Pam, and you can quote me."
groworganic.com
Dear Editors’ Choice Winner:
Congratulations! The editors of Organic Gardening magazine have selected The Adventurer Hat as a winner of our 2007 Editors’ Choice Award.
The Editors’ Choice Awards are presented to the best products used in our season-long evaluations. Our respected panel of test gardeners extensive experience and rigorous field-testing, combined with Organic Gardening’s 65 years of heritage as a trusted gardening resource make these awards the most highly credible mark of quality for the companies and products chosen.
As a winner of our Editors’ Choice Award, your product has been recognized for superior design, materials and performance. All winners withstood extensive field-testing by our editors and test gardeners. As a result, those selected for this year’s award are among an elite few who enjoy the privilege of bearing this mark.
Of course, the real winners here are our readers—and your customers. Through the devotion to quality by your team and the dedication of our staff, together we’re creating and sustaining gardeners and ensuring a more enjoyable gardening experience.
Congratulations again on being named a 2007 Editors’ Choice Award recipient by Organic Gardening magazine. We look forward to helping you make the most of this award.
Sincerely,
Scott Meyer - Executive Editor
Zazel Loven - Senior Editor
From the reviewer:
The Adventure Hat does much more than provide some shade, Pam says. The lightweight fabric fully blocks the sunlight, protecting your face, nose, ears, and back of the neck from harmful rays. "I love this hat," says the usually restrained Pam, and you can quote me."
groworganic.com
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Broccoli Protects Against UV Radiation
Broccoli sprout-derived extract protects against ultraviolet radiation
A team of Johns Hopkins scientists reports in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that humans can be protected against the damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation — the most abundant cancer-causing agent in our environment — by topical application of an extract of broccoli sprouts.
The results in human volunteers, backed by parallel evidence obtained in mice, show that the degree of skin redness (erythema) caused by UV rays, which is an accurate index of the inflammation and cell damage caused by UV radiation, is markedly reduced in extract-treated skin.
Importantly, notes investigator Paul Talalay, M.D., professor of pharmacology, this chemical extract is not a sunscreen. Unlike sunscreens, it does not absorb UV light and prevent its entry into the skin. Rather, the extract works inside cells by boosting the production of a network of protective enzymes that defend cells against many aspects of UV damage. Consequently, the effects are long-lasting; the protection lasts for several days, even after the extract is no longer present on or in the skin.
As skin cancer incidence is rising dramatically due to the escalating exposure of aging populations to the UV rays of the sun, Talalay says that “treatment with this broccoli sprout extract might be another protective measure that alleviates the skin damage caused by UV radiation and thereby decreases our long-term risk of developing cancer.”
The protective chemical agent in the broccoli sprout extracts is sulforaphane. It was first identified by Talalay and his colleagues more than 15 years ago and has been shown to prevent tumor development in a number of animals treated with cancer-causing chemicals.
After first testing mouse models of skin cancer to confirm sulforaphane’s protective effects, Talalay and his team tested six healthy volunteers. Each one was exposed to a pulse of UV radiation on small patches of their skin (less than 1 inch in diameter) that were either treated or untreated with different doses of broccoli extract.
At the highest doses, UV-induced redness and inflammation were reduced by an average of 37 percent. The extracts were protective even when applied three days prior to UV exposure. The protection did vary considerably among the subjects, ranging from 8 percent to 78 percent, which Talalay notes may be due to genetic differences among individuals, local differences in the skin, or other factors such as dietary habits. He also points out that conventional sunscreens were essentially ineffective in these experiments.
Source: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Friday, October 05, 2007
The Miracle of Cell Repair
UVA researchers explain cell response to skin-damaging UV rays.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 1, 2007 -- It’s well known that overexposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause major skin problems, ranging from skin cancer to sunburns and premature wrinkles. A tan, for example, is nature’s own UV protection and an unhealthy sign that your skin is damaged.
But what is not so well known is exactly how UV rays specifically interact with your DNA and the complex organelles and proteins found inside every cell of your body.
Researchers at the University of Virginia Health System have published a new study that helps scientists around the world expand the body of knowledge on how cells protect themselves (or not) from DNA damage caused by UV rays.
Their study reveals part of a “simple switch” mechanism inside cells, triggered by UV exposure from the sun, that helps our cells survive and thrive after being exposed. This mechanism involves an unanticipated connection between several proteins in the cell, the researchers discovered.
Their findings, published in the September 7th online issue of the journal Cell, describe part of a pathway inside human cells that regulates when and how cells repair damage to their DNA when irradiated with UV rays. The research was conducted by Ian Macara, PhD, professor of microbiology at UVa’s Center for Cell Signaling, along with two MD/PhD students at UVa, Brandon Kremer and Laura Adang.
“When cells get DNA damage, normally they stop moving and stop responding to stimuli until they are repaired,” Macara explains. “We detail in this paper how a certain protein, called SOCS7, moves from the cytoplasm into the cell nucleus and essentially instructs the cell to stop dividing via a protein called NCK. The role of SOCS7 is both to stop outside signals from being relayed to the cell and to switch on the cell’s response to radiation damage. Cancer can arise if the repair work is not performed properly.”
The SOCS7 protein is known to be involved in the body’s insulin response to blood glucose levels, but Macara said he was surprised to find SOCS7 involved in the response to cellular DNA damage as well. Macara said it will now be important to study whether the absence of SOCS7 in cells would make a person more susceptible to skin cancer.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 1, 2007 -- It’s well known that overexposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause major skin problems, ranging from skin cancer to sunburns and premature wrinkles. A tan, for example, is nature’s own UV protection and an unhealthy sign that your skin is damaged.
But what is not so well known is exactly how UV rays specifically interact with your DNA and the complex organelles and proteins found inside every cell of your body.
Researchers at the University of Virginia Health System have published a new study that helps scientists around the world expand the body of knowledge on how cells protect themselves (or not) from DNA damage caused by UV rays.
Their study reveals part of a “simple switch” mechanism inside cells, triggered by UV exposure from the sun, that helps our cells survive and thrive after being exposed. This mechanism involves an unanticipated connection between several proteins in the cell, the researchers discovered.
Their findings, published in the September 7th online issue of the journal Cell, describe part of a pathway inside human cells that regulates when and how cells repair damage to their DNA when irradiated with UV rays. The research was conducted by Ian Macara, PhD, professor of microbiology at UVa’s Center for Cell Signaling, along with two MD/PhD students at UVa, Brandon Kremer and Laura Adang.
“When cells get DNA damage, normally they stop moving and stop responding to stimuli until they are repaired,” Macara explains. “We detail in this paper how a certain protein, called SOCS7, moves from the cytoplasm into the cell nucleus and essentially instructs the cell to stop dividing via a protein called NCK. The role of SOCS7 is both to stop outside signals from being relayed to the cell and to switch on the cell’s response to radiation damage. Cancer can arise if the repair work is not performed properly.”
The SOCS7 protein is known to be involved in the body’s insulin response to blood glucose levels, but Macara said he was surprised to find SOCS7 involved in the response to cellular DNA damage as well. Macara said it will now be important to study whether the absence of SOCS7 in cells would make a person more susceptible to skin cancer.
###
The paper was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Titled “Septins Regulate Actin Organization and Cell Cycle Arrest Through SOCS7-Mediated Nuclear Accumulation of NCK”, this research can be found online at: http://tinyurl.com/38pe2d.
The paper was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Titled “Septins Regulate Actin Organization and Cell Cycle Arrest Through SOCS7-Mediated Nuclear Accumulation of NCK”, this research can be found online at: http://tinyurl.com/38pe2d.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Got Sunscreen?
One 9-ounce bottle of sunscreen is enough for just one day in the sun for a family of four (if they reapply twice). So, for the single person, that means a 9-ounce bottle should last you just two sun-filled weekends.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Don't Panic!
Researchers predict by 2010, one in 50 Americans will develop melanoma at some point in their lives.
Doctors suggest a healthy balance of sun and shade, keeping tanning to a minimum by wearing a sun hat with more than a 3-inch brim, slipping on sun protective clothing at the shore and consistently applying recommended amounts of sunscreen. Also, remember to do your monthly skin check. Should you discover irregularities, prompt treatment is key -- seek a health professional's advice as soon as possible.
Doctors suggest a healthy balance of sun and shade, keeping tanning to a minimum by wearing a sun hat with more than a 3-inch brim, slipping on sun protective clothing at the shore and consistently applying recommended amounts of sunscreen. Also, remember to do your monthly skin check. Should you discover irregularities, prompt treatment is key -- seek a health professional's advice as soon as possible.
Tasty Beverage Can Protect Your Skin From Cancer
Most of us know the best way to protect yourself against skin cancer is to cover up with sun protective clothing and wear sunscreen, but you may be able to drink your way to safer skin as well.
"The use of sunscreens to cover up the best that you can from the sun, the use of sun hats and sun protective clothing during the day, and try to avoid the sun during the hours of 10 in the morning to two in the afternoon when the sun intensity is the greatest outdoors - that in combination with drinking tea -- I think would be useful," says dermatologist Dr. Bryan Chen.
Drinking just one cup of tea a day will lower your risk of getting the two most common types of skin cancer, squamos and basal cell carcinoma, according to the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology."Teas have long been known to contain antioxidants in them -- and also chemicals called polyfenals," says Dr. Chen.In the first human study of more than 2,000 people tea's antioxidants were found to limit the effects of the sun's ultraviolet rays. But Doctor Chen says tea isn't the cure all for skin cancer." Just because you drink tea doesn't mean it's a 100% protection against the development of skin cancer -- you really do need to do it in combination with other protective measures protect yourself from the sun.
"Scientists found the more tea you drink, each day and over the years, the better the skin protection. It doesn't matter if the tea is hot or cold, and all types of tea offered sun protection, including green, black and herbal tea.
NBC - Web Editor: Online Content Producer, Matt Bush
"The use of sunscreens to cover up the best that you can from the sun, the use of sun hats and sun protective clothing during the day, and try to avoid the sun during the hours of 10 in the morning to two in the afternoon when the sun intensity is the greatest outdoors - that in combination with drinking tea -- I think would be useful," says dermatologist Dr. Bryan Chen.
Drinking just one cup of tea a day will lower your risk of getting the two most common types of skin cancer, squamos and basal cell carcinoma, according to the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology."Teas have long been known to contain antioxidants in them -- and also chemicals called polyfenals," says Dr. Chen.In the first human study of more than 2,000 people tea's antioxidants were found to limit the effects of the sun's ultraviolet rays. But Doctor Chen says tea isn't the cure all for skin cancer." Just because you drink tea doesn't mean it's a 100% protection against the development of skin cancer -- you really do need to do it in combination with other protective measures protect yourself from the sun.
"Scientists found the more tea you drink, each day and over the years, the better the skin protection. It doesn't matter if the tea is hot or cold, and all types of tea offered sun protection, including green, black and herbal tea.
NBC - Web Editor: Online Content Producer, Matt Bush
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Skin Cancer Campaign Targets Vanity
By Jessica Marszalek13mar07
YOUNG women who ignore health warnings about skin cancer may be coaxed out of the sun by a new campaign appealing to their vanity.
Visiting academic Dr Kristina Jackson today presented US research into reshaping attitudes on sun protection and discouraging sun tanning at a Brisbane medical conference hosted by the Queensland Cancer Fund and Queensland University of Technology.
Dr Jackson discussed her intervention method in which a group of young women were shown a video that promoted the beauty of pale skin, and the effects of skin cancer.
A follow-up four months later showed the women had reduced the time they spent sunbathing and took more precautions.
Queensland Cancer Fund SunSmart coordinator Lisa Naumann said Dr Jackson's research, which focused on the beauty benefits of avoiding the sun, would be looked at to see how it could be used to target young women in Australia.
She said young women often missed messages which drove home the possibility of developing skin cancer and it was hoped a different slant, showing the negative effects of sun exposure such as wrinkles, would be more effective.
She said measures such as photo-ageing had been used to drive home the message.
"(It was) not so much scare tactics but just saying this is the reality of it," Ms Naumann said.
"Just by showing them the damaging effects of the sun, it had a positive influence."
She said an advertising campaign could be used to encourage young women to "enjoy the skin they're in".
YOUNG women who ignore health warnings about skin cancer may be coaxed out of the sun by a new campaign appealing to their vanity.
Visiting academic Dr Kristina Jackson today presented US research into reshaping attitudes on sun protection and discouraging sun tanning at a Brisbane medical conference hosted by the Queensland Cancer Fund and Queensland University of Technology.
Dr Jackson discussed her intervention method in which a group of young women were shown a video that promoted the beauty of pale skin, and the effects of skin cancer.
A follow-up four months later showed the women had reduced the time they spent sunbathing and took more precautions.
Queensland Cancer Fund SunSmart coordinator Lisa Naumann said Dr Jackson's research, which focused on the beauty benefits of avoiding the sun, would be looked at to see how it could be used to target young women in Australia.
She said young women often missed messages which drove home the possibility of developing skin cancer and it was hoped a different slant, showing the negative effects of sun exposure such as wrinkles, would be more effective.
She said measures such as photo-ageing had been used to drive home the message.
"(It was) not so much scare tactics but just saying this is the reality of it," Ms Naumann said.
"Just by showing them the damaging effects of the sun, it had a positive influence."
She said an advertising campaign could be used to encourage young women to "enjoy the skin they're in".
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Cancer-Fighting Gene Guards Against Sun Damage
Cancer-Fighting Gene Guards Against Sun Damage
THURSDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- A gene that is known to play a key role in suppressing cancer also seems to protect against sun damage while promoting a golden tan.
The revelation could one day lead to better ways to prevent skin cancer, which roughly 1 million Americans develop each year.
"This finding provides us an opportunity to look at human populations with a varied risk of developing skin cancer and start to identify precisely what is regulating the risk of developing skin cancer rather than estimating," said senior study author Dr. David Fisher, director of the melanoma program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School. "Right now, we're incredibly inaccurate in identifying risk and, therefore, in ameliorating risk."
The findings are published in the March 9 issue of Cell.
People who tan easily or have darker skin are much less likely to develop melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
"The tanning response is a protective response to injury, which can prevent further injury," explained Dr. Robin Ashinoff, medical director of Dermatologic, Mohs and Laser Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, in New Jersey. "On the one hand, the skin is the most common organ to be affected by cancer and, in principle, it ought to be preventable because we know the carcinogen which causes it, the sun."Still, rates of skin cancer remain high.
"That's a terrible state of affairs in 2007," Fisher said. "We really want to understand the impact of ultraviolet radiation on the skin and what is the molecular cascade that is occurring downstream."
Six months ago, Fisher and his team published a paper documenting the fact that keratinocytes -- cells closer to the surface of the skin -- react to sun exposure. Previously, it had been thought that pigment-producing melanocytes played this role.
Once keratinocytes are exposed to rays from the sun, they produce melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), a growth factor which binds to the pigment cells (melanocytes) and stimulates them to produce pigment.
Differences in the MSH receptor explain differences in ability to tan. Redheads, for example, have a variant which doesn't respond at all to MSH, explaining why the Nicole Kidmans of this world don't turn a tawny bronze.
Fisher and his colleagues still didn't know, however, what happened within keratinocytes to stimulate MSH production.
"We knew that ultraviolet radiation causes MSH to be induced," Fisher said. "How is the ultraviolet radiation doing that? What is perceiving the radiation and translating that signaling into making more MSH?"
The key happens to be the tumor-suppressor gene known as p53, which is induced in almost every keratinocyte of human skin samples within an hour of being exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays. "That activity is completely regulated by this protein," Fisher said.
The finding is biologically plausible, experts said.
"It makes sense that most skin cancers and cancers, for that matter, have mutations in the p53 because it functions to protect us. It basically causes abnormal cells to be killed or die, and regulates all sorts of pathways that protect us," Ashinoff said. "It's not surprising that something that would protect us would also stimulate mechanisms in the skin known for protecting us."
"Knowing this, we can now identify exactly where we would like to interfere with the risk," Fisher added. "Knowing that p53 is part of this process allows us to potentially identify drugs that might be able to restore this response at different steps, depending on where the person might need it, where their block is."
By Amanda GardnerHealthDay ReporterThursday, March 8, 2007; 12:00 AM
THURSDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- A gene that is known to play a key role in suppressing cancer also seems to protect against sun damage while promoting a golden tan.
The revelation could one day lead to better ways to prevent skin cancer, which roughly 1 million Americans develop each year.
"This finding provides us an opportunity to look at human populations with a varied risk of developing skin cancer and start to identify precisely what is regulating the risk of developing skin cancer rather than estimating," said senior study author Dr. David Fisher, director of the melanoma program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School. "Right now, we're incredibly inaccurate in identifying risk and, therefore, in ameliorating risk."
The findings are published in the March 9 issue of Cell.
People who tan easily or have darker skin are much less likely to develop melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
"The tanning response is a protective response to injury, which can prevent further injury," explained Dr. Robin Ashinoff, medical director of Dermatologic, Mohs and Laser Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, in New Jersey. "On the one hand, the skin is the most common organ to be affected by cancer and, in principle, it ought to be preventable because we know the carcinogen which causes it, the sun."Still, rates of skin cancer remain high.
"That's a terrible state of affairs in 2007," Fisher said. "We really want to understand the impact of ultraviolet radiation on the skin and what is the molecular cascade that is occurring downstream."
Six months ago, Fisher and his team published a paper documenting the fact that keratinocytes -- cells closer to the surface of the skin -- react to sun exposure. Previously, it had been thought that pigment-producing melanocytes played this role.
Once keratinocytes are exposed to rays from the sun, they produce melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), a growth factor which binds to the pigment cells (melanocytes) and stimulates them to produce pigment.
Differences in the MSH receptor explain differences in ability to tan. Redheads, for example, have a variant which doesn't respond at all to MSH, explaining why the Nicole Kidmans of this world don't turn a tawny bronze.
Fisher and his colleagues still didn't know, however, what happened within keratinocytes to stimulate MSH production.
"We knew that ultraviolet radiation causes MSH to be induced," Fisher said. "How is the ultraviolet radiation doing that? What is perceiving the radiation and translating that signaling into making more MSH?"
The key happens to be the tumor-suppressor gene known as p53, which is induced in almost every keratinocyte of human skin samples within an hour of being exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays. "That activity is completely regulated by this protein," Fisher said.
The finding is biologically plausible, experts said.
"It makes sense that most skin cancers and cancers, for that matter, have mutations in the p53 because it functions to protect us. It basically causes abnormal cells to be killed or die, and regulates all sorts of pathways that protect us," Ashinoff said. "It's not surprising that something that would protect us would also stimulate mechanisms in the skin known for protecting us."
"Knowing this, we can now identify exactly where we would like to interfere with the risk," Fisher added. "Knowing that p53 is part of this process allows us to potentially identify drugs that might be able to restore this response at different steps, depending on where the person might need it, where their block is."
By Amanda GardnerHealthDay ReporterThursday, March 8, 2007; 12:00 AM
Friday, March 02, 2007
Maggy!
Its been a testing year for Magnus Backstedt the Liquigas rider who crashed on the opening day of his season in 2006 and suffered a career threatening knee injury, but Backstedt has now revealed a more sinister problem that he has also had to deal with alongside everything else. "I visited the doctor in December because of a mole that I didn't like the look of. He removed it anyway and said it was probably nothing to worry about.
Then in January I received the news that it was a malignant melanoma, skin cancer! I then had to have another operation where they took a piece of skin 9cm by 5 cm from my chest. As you can imagine I am now quite a beauty with my shirt off" He joked " We as bike riders whether you are a pro or otherwise, spend a lot of time in the sun. I have got the all clear, but I am now going to look at raising awareness of the risks of skin cancer. I am though ready to get back and put all this behind me. I am so fired up to get back to my best" He concluded.
Then in January I received the news that it was a malignant melanoma, skin cancer! I then had to have another operation where they took a piece of skin 9cm by 5 cm from my chest. As you can imagine I am now quite a beauty with my shirt off" He joked " We as bike riders whether you are a pro or otherwise, spend a lot of time in the sun. I have got the all clear, but I am now going to look at raising awareness of the risks of skin cancer. I am though ready to get back and put all this behind me. I am so fired up to get back to my best" He concluded.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Saving our Skins
"Healthy tan is an oxymoron," a dermatologist once said. The skin is telling you it's being damaged by ultraviolet rays. That damage related to mutations in the DNA is what is thought to lead to skin cancer. Nothing exists to reverse the DNA mutations that lead to skin cancer.Every time you step outside or get into your car, your skin is exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays. Over time , these UVA or UVB rays significantly increase the risk of cancer and hasten the signs of aging skin, such as wrinkling, sagging and discoloration.
Even people who avoid sun bathing or cover up at the beach don't think about wearing sunscreen or protective clothing every day.
What you're wearing makes a difference, too. Tightly woven fabrics offer the best resistance. A light T-shirt, on the other hand, offers little protection, about the equivalent of a sunscreen with a protection factor of SPF 5.
Curing skin cancer has a lot to do with how early you catch it. Prevention is always the best course!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Sun Hats & Sun Protective Clothing UPF Ratings
Fully effective sun hats and sun protective clothing should meet the highest industry and governmental standards. All fabrics used in the manufacture of sun hats and sun protection clothing should be independently tested and rated to guarantee compliance with the internationally accepted guidelines outlined in AS/NZS 4399:1996. In addition, sun hats and sun protective clothing should be designed to cover the maximum area of the body specific to their use, while allowing for comfort, fashion and ease of care. Note that no fabric, or garment gives total protection from the sun (refer to UPF Classification System below), because effects of the sun’s rays are cumulative over time, an individual could be subject to serious occurrences to the skin based on length and intensity of exposure.The Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) indicates how well a fabric/product protects the skin from solar UV and lets you select high quality skin protective clothing and sun hats with confidence.
UPF Classification System
UPF Ratings 15, 20 Good Protection, blocks 93.3% to 95.8% of sun UV rays
UPF Ratings 25, 30, 35 Very Good Protection, blocks 95.9% to 97.4% of sun UV rays
UPF Ratings 40, 45, 50, 50+ Excellent Protection, blocks of sun UV rays >97.5%
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
The sun is essential for life.
The sun IS essential for life. Yet, sunlight can also be a source of such deleterious effects as sunburn, and suntanning, as well as premalignant and malignant lesions. These may all occur in individuals with normal responses to sunlight. In addition, there exist a variety of "abnormal" photosensitivity responses to sunlight that may result from either endogenous imbalances (e.g. the porphyrias) or from added exogenous factors (e.g. drug photosensitivity). The "normal" responses to sunlight, by and large, are produced preferentially by UVB (290-320 nm), with minor contribution by UVA (320-400 nm) wavelengths. In contrast, the "abnormal" photosensitivity responses are, for the most part, elicited predominantly by long UVA and, in some cases, visible light.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Melanoma awareness saves lives.
If you're not in the sun a lot, why should you worry about melanoma?
Actually, melanoma (black mole cancer) is most common in people who work indoors and burn because of sun exposure on weekends and vacations. Your risk is greatest if you have light skin, eyes, and hair, or if you have a history of irregularly shaped moles. Melanoma is most common in people under 57, and it's the number one cancer in women 25 to 29. According to dermatologist Robert Friedman, M.D., a clinical associate professor at NYU Medical School, "Recent research indicates there may be a link between melanoma and pancreatic and breast cancer; a personal or family history of any makes you a candidate for another."
I didn't think a cancerous spot was such a big deal. Can't it just be removed?
"If you catch it early and excise it, melanoma is 100 percent curable," says Stephen Krant, M.D., the plastic surgeon who founded the SK Clinic in La Jolla, California. The death rate is going down, but the incidence of melanoma is rising. Dr. Krant advocates training aestheticians to point out questionable moles and suggest clients see their dermatologists. "Barbers, too, can be astute in spotting a lesion on the scalp," Dr. Friedman notes.
What's your best advice to prevent melanoma?
Boycott tanning beds. Wear cover-ups and wide-brimmed hats - see sundayafternoons.com for great styles. Apply sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 and reapply frequently. Do self-exams (see sidebar) and get an annual head-to-toe check from your dermatologist (more often if you're at high risk). Also, says Anna Pavlick, M.D., an oncologist in New York City, "Have annual eye exams and wear sunglasses; the depletion of the ozone layer has caused an increase in ocular melanoma."
Performing a Self-Examination
Actually, melanoma (black mole cancer) is most common in people who work indoors and burn because of sun exposure on weekends and vacations. Your risk is greatest if you have light skin, eyes, and hair, or if you have a history of irregularly shaped moles. Melanoma is most common in people under 57, and it's the number one cancer in women 25 to 29. According to dermatologist Robert Friedman, M.D., a clinical associate professor at NYU Medical School, "Recent research indicates there may be a link between melanoma and pancreatic and breast cancer; a personal or family history of any makes you a candidate for another."
I didn't think a cancerous spot was such a big deal. Can't it just be removed?
"If you catch it early and excise it, melanoma is 100 percent curable," says Stephen Krant, M.D., the plastic surgeon who founded the SK Clinic in La Jolla, California. The death rate is going down, but the incidence of melanoma is rising. Dr. Krant advocates training aestheticians to point out questionable moles and suggest clients see their dermatologists. "Barbers, too, can be astute in spotting a lesion on the scalp," Dr. Friedman notes.
What's your best advice to prevent melanoma?
Boycott tanning beds. Wear cover-ups and wide-brimmed hats - see sundayafternoons.com for great styles. Apply sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 and reapply frequently. Do self-exams (see sidebar) and get an annual head-to-toe check from your dermatologist (more often if you're at high risk). Also, says Anna Pavlick, M.D., an oncologist in New York City, "Have annual eye exams and wear sunglasses; the depletion of the ozone layer has caused an increase in ocular melanoma."
Performing a Self-Examination
- Note the location and usual appearance of birthmarks, moles, and blemishes so you'll spot future changes.
- Check the front and back of your body, then raise your arms and examine the sides.
Examine your arms and hands. - Check the backs and fronts of your legs.
- Look between your buttocks and around your genitals.
- Sit and examine your feet, including the soles and spaces between toes.
Check your face, neck, and scalp.
Robert Friedman, M.D., and his colleagues Darell Reigel, M.D., and Alfred Kopf, M.D., devised the ABCDE system. See a dermatologist if you find any of these warning signs.
- Asymmetry: If the mole were folded in half, the sides wouldn't match.
- Border Irregularity: The mole's edges are ragged, notched, or blurred.
- Color: The mole is a non-uniform mixture of brown, black, red, white, or blue.
- Diameter: The mole is wider than 6 millimeters (the size of a pencil eraser).
- Evolving: The mole changes in size, shape, color, or symmetry.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Young People and Skin Cancer
How common is skin cancer in young people?
- Like all forms of cancer, skin cancer becomes more common with increasing age.
- Certain types of skin cancer do affect younger people.
- Malignant melanoma - the most serious form of skin cancer - is the third most common cancer in people aged 15-24 years.
- Of the five most common cancers in young people, melanoma is unusual in being almost entirely preventable, through sun protection, avoiding burning, staying in the shade between 10 – 3, covering up with a sun hat, UPF rated sun protection clothing and sunglasses, and using minimum SPF 15+ sunscreen.
Why is it important to protect young skin?
- UV damage to young skin increases the risk of developing skin cancer in later life.
- The skin of infants (babies from birth to 12months) is thinner and produces less melanin (Melanin is the primary determinant of human skin color.) than at any other time in life.
- The majority of our lifetime sun exposure happens by the age of 18 so it is critical to use sun protection to protect skin during these early years.
Knowledge, attitudes and behavior of 16-24 year olds to sun protection:
- Young people are at greatest risk of being burnt when traveling abroad for the first time without their parents.
- More than half of young people feel that a suntan makes them look healthier and more attractive.
- Although 50% of young people use sunscreen to protect themselves from the sun, only a quarter choose a sun hat, sun protective clothing, or sunscreen with a high protection factor (UPF 50 +/SPF15+).
- While 45% of young men, and 48% of young women, are aware that staying in the shade can help prevent skin cancer, only 7% of men and 20% of women report wearing a hat, sun protective clothing, or sun protection to do so.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Kayaking Badwater Lake - Death Valley, YES, Death Valley, CA
Definitely the right place and time for sun hats and sun protection clothing!
Rain-fall profit, Spring 2005.
Sun, Glorious Sun........
2004-1500 1500-AD-4.5 billion BC
1990s
A clear link emerges between sunshine and skin cancer.
1980s
Concern over skin cancer grows, as does popularity of sunbeds. People of all ages begin to take seriously the need for hats, sun hats, and sun protection clothing for the greatest care of their health and their continued enjoyment of the outdoors.
1979
An American government report concludes that sunscreens help prevent skin cancer
1960s and 1970s
Cheap package holidays introduce sunburn to a mass audience
1950s
The first self-tanning product comes onto the market
1940s
Swimwear, once designed to cover skin, now exposed it
1920s
Suntans are popularised by Coco Channel and Josephine Baker
1880
The first photocells are invented - converting sunlight directly into electrical energy
1849
The French physicist, Armand Fizeau, establishes the speed of light at approximately 186,300 miles (300,000km) per second
1801
The German physicist, Johann Wilhelm Ritter, discovers light contains ultraviolet radiation
1800
Astronomer William Herschel discovers infrared radiation
1666
Sir Isaac Newton performs his famous prism experiment. He concludes that sunlight is white light that contains all the colours of the spectrum
1629-1695
Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch scientist, develops a theory that light consists of waves, not particles
1512
Nicolaus Copernicus correctly places the Sun at the centre of the Solar System
1300s
Anasazi natives in North America live in south-facing cliff dwellings that capture the winter sun
500 BC
Pythagoras, Greek philosopher and mathematician, puts forward the 'particle' theory of light - every visible object emits a stream of particles, that bombard the eye
1500 BC
The sundial is thought to have been invented
2000-1500 BC
Stonehenge is built. The stones are thought to track the Sun - possibly showing the solstices, seasons or eclipses
2300 BC
Egyptians worship the Sun god, Ra, as the highest of the gods
2 Billion BC
As primitive organisms develop, one manages to convert the energy of sunlight into food. This method, later used by all plants, is called 'photosynthesis'
3 Billion BC
With the aid of sunlight, early life forms on Earth
4.5 Billion BC
The Sun is born. Scientists calculate that it will burn for another 10-30 billion years
1990s
A clear link emerges between sunshine and skin cancer.
1980s
Concern over skin cancer grows, as does popularity of sunbeds. People of all ages begin to take seriously the need for hats, sun hats, and sun protection clothing for the greatest care of their health and their continued enjoyment of the outdoors.
1979
An American government report concludes that sunscreens help prevent skin cancer
1960s and 1970s
Cheap package holidays introduce sunburn to a mass audience
1950s
The first self-tanning product comes onto the market
1940s
Swimwear, once designed to cover skin, now exposed it
1920s
Suntans are popularised by Coco Channel and Josephine Baker
1880
The first photocells are invented - converting sunlight directly into electrical energy
1849
The French physicist, Armand Fizeau, establishes the speed of light at approximately 186,300 miles (300,000km) per second
1801
The German physicist, Johann Wilhelm Ritter, discovers light contains ultraviolet radiation
1800
Astronomer William Herschel discovers infrared radiation
1666
Sir Isaac Newton performs his famous prism experiment. He concludes that sunlight is white light that contains all the colours of the spectrum
1629-1695
Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch scientist, develops a theory that light consists of waves, not particles
1512
Nicolaus Copernicus correctly places the Sun at the centre of the Solar System
1300s
Anasazi natives in North America live in south-facing cliff dwellings that capture the winter sun
500 BC
Pythagoras, Greek philosopher and mathematician, puts forward the 'particle' theory of light - every visible object emits a stream of particles, that bombard the eye
1500 BC
The sundial is thought to have been invented
2000-1500 BC
Stonehenge is built. The stones are thought to track the Sun - possibly showing the solstices, seasons or eclipses
2300 BC
Egyptians worship the Sun god, Ra, as the highest of the gods
2 Billion BC
As primitive organisms develop, one manages to convert the energy of sunlight into food. This method, later used by all plants, is called 'photosynthesis'
3 Billion BC
With the aid of sunlight, early life forms on Earth
4.5 Billion BC
The Sun is born. Scientists calculate that it will burn for another 10-30 billion years
Do I need to be concerned about sun protection during the winter months?
The answer is a definitive YES!
Experts warn that harmful rays can penetrate clouds. In a recent survey around half of those asked were unaware that precautions against burning are still vital in winter weather conditions – including cloudy days. Often, people who would never dream of baking themselves on a sun-drenched beach will disregard their summer caution with little regard for the hazards of the strength of the winter sun.
Since over-exposure to the sun is considered the chief cause of skin cancer, some assume cloud-shrouded locations are immune. Yet Washington state, an area typically associated with winter cloudy skies has a melanoma rate slightly higher than the national rate — at 32.5 cases per 100,000 people, compared with 24.9 cases nationally, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
Following the basic tenets of summer sun protection during the wintry weather months will allow you to continue to enjoy the outdoors throughout the year. Hats, sun hats, and sun protection clothing can be your best choice summer, or winter!
Experts warn that harmful rays can penetrate clouds. In a recent survey around half of those asked were unaware that precautions against burning are still vital in winter weather conditions – including cloudy days. Often, people who would never dream of baking themselves on a sun-drenched beach will disregard their summer caution with little regard for the hazards of the strength of the winter sun.
Since over-exposure to the sun is considered the chief cause of skin cancer, some assume cloud-shrouded locations are immune. Yet Washington state, an area typically associated with winter cloudy skies has a melanoma rate slightly higher than the national rate — at 32.5 cases per 100,000 people, compared with 24.9 cases nationally, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
Following the basic tenets of summer sun protection during the wintry weather months will allow you to continue to enjoy the outdoors throughout the year. Hats, sun hats, and sun protection clothing can be your best choice summer, or winter!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)