Skin Cancer Archive

It appears that physicians rarely counsel people about sunscreen use—even people with a history of skin cancer. However, people should wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen before heading outdoors, even in fall or winter.

You can avoid skin cancers—and prevent unwanted wrinkles – by staying sun smart.

Last year, dermatologists and plastic surgeons injected more than six million doses of Botox (botulinum toxin type A) and two million soft tissue fillers to smooth their patients' lines and wrinkles. They also removed millions of skin cancers. Many of these procedures could have been avoided with some simple sun protection.

Reducing your sun exposure and performing periodic skin checks are the key steps.

With all the warnings against soaking up too much sun, getting ready to go outside can feel like you need a checklist like astronauts use when suiting up for a 6-hour spacewalk in the full blast of the sun’s radiation. Putting on sunscreen and following other sun-smart strategies is for a good cause: preventing melanoma—the most dangerous kind of skin cancer. Curiously, doctors tend not to talk about sunscreen use with their patients. One study showed that, in 18 billion outpatient visits, primary care doctors mentioned sunscreen to just 0.07% of their patients, or roughly 1 in 1,400. But even though your doctor may not mention it, you know better: Put on a broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 before you go out. Reapply every two to three hours, or more if you are in the water or sweating. Wear a wide-brimmed hat or sun-protective clothing.

Although it accounts for less than 5% of all skin cancer cases, melanoma is responsible for the vast majority of skin cancer deaths. This form of cancer starts in the melanocytes, cells deep in the epidermis, or in moles on the surface of the skin that produce pigment.

Early detection and treatment are critical to prevent this cancer from spreading throughout the body.

Q. I recently had a basal cell carcinoma of the skin removed. Will it come back? Can I prevent a recurrence?

A. After being removed, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin does recur at some other spot on the body in about 40% of people. Routine skin examinations can find repeat cancers while they are still small. The exams should cover the entire body, including the top of your head, the backs of your ears, and the bottoms of your feet. BCC often appears as a waxy or pearly colored bump.

Sixteen million Americans struggle with rosacea, a skin condition characterized by flare-ups of reddened and sometimes bumpy facial skin. Over time, rosacea can reveal blood vessels under the skin's surface. But you don't have to suffer. Consider this advice from dermatologist Dr. Kenneth Arndt, a Harvard Medical School professor.

• Use topical treatments. "The most effective gels, creams, and lotions contain either metronidazole or azeleic acid. They should keep rosacea under control with continued use, which is safe for prolonged periods of time without side effects," says Dr. Arndt.

• Treat rosacea on the inside, too. "Very low doses of antibiotics, such as doxycycline, are effective in controlling rosacea's inflammation. The dosage is much lower than would be used for a bacterial infection, so the potential side effects are minimized or absent. Start with orals and topicals, then taper off to topical agents only"

• Eliminate dilated blood vessels with lasers. Effective treatments include the pulsed dye laser (yellow light), pulsed green-light laser, and intense pulsed light. Several treatments are usually required, spaced six to 12 months apart.

• Use diet to avoid flare-ups. "Do everything possible to avoid triggers such as spicy foods as well as thermally hot food and drink—it's the heat that causes flushing, not the coffee itself," says Dr. Arndt.

Aspirin may lower women's risk for melanoma. The longer women take aspirin, the lower their risk appears to be. However, because aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding, women need to use it with caution.

Aspirin appears to be associated with a lowered risk of melanoma in postmenopausal women. It does not appear to cause melanoma risk to decrease. It is only associated with a decrease in risk.

With the unofficial start of summer just a few days away, many people will soon be stocking up on sunscreen. The products they’ll be seeing in stores look different than they have in the past. That’s because new rules for sunscreen labels are now in effect. The changes are good ones for consumers. The new rules, mandated by the FDA, are making sunscreen more informative with less misleading information. For example, the term “sunblock” is banned because none of these products can block all of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. “Waterproof” is also banned, replaced by “water-resistant”—which must be accompanied by a set time for reapplication. Another big change has to do with SPF, or sun protection factor. The best protection comes from a sunscreen that provides broad spectrum protection, meaning it filters out much of the UVA and UVB. Under the new FDA rules, if a label says “broad spectrum,” the product must pass tests proving that it truly protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Sunscreen products that don’t meet an SPF of 15 or higher for both UVA and UVB must now carry a warning.