{"id":4959,"date":"2015-05-05T07:00:47","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T12:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?p=4959"},"modified":"2017-04-18T11:00:15","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T16:00:15","slug":"skin-cancer-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/skin-cancer-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"Skin Cancer Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Skin Cancer\u00a0Prevention<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4964\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/05\/Skin-Cancer-Prevention-350x350.png\" alt=\"Skin Cancer Prevention\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/05\/Skin-Cancer-Prevention-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/05\/Skin-Cancer-Prevention-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/05\/Skin-Cancer-Prevention-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/05\/Skin-Cancer-Prevention.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/h1>\n<p>Summer sun is around the corner, and May is <strong>Skin Cancer Awareness Month<\/strong>. Skin cancer is the <em>most common<\/em> cancer, and people over 50 are <em>most likely<\/em> to develop it. Regular screenings and daily preventive measures can cut your risk, and now is the perfect time to step up your sun-protection game.<\/p>\n<p>If you had childhood sunburns and assume prevention is pointless now, think again. The idea that most sun damage occurs before age 18 has been proven <em>false<\/em>, and there are steps you take now to improve your health. And if you think you\u2019re immune or low-risk because you have dark skin, doctors say otherwise. People with lighter skin are at higher risk, but people of <em>all races and skin tones<\/em> get skin cancer, which means everyone should be vigilant about sun protection and screenings.<\/p>\n<h2>Screen time for skin cancer prevention<\/h2>\n<p>Experts recommend that you check your skin every 1 to 3 months, and some American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) partners offer <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aad.org\/public\/spot-skin-cancer\" target=\"_blank\">free skin cancer screenings<\/a><\/strong> across the country in May. Whether you get a free screening, go to your doctor, or check yourself, the things to look for are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Red scaly patches that could be precancerous growths called <em>actinic keratoses<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Flesh-colored bumps that may be <em>basal cell carcinoma<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Red, scaly bumps or sores that don\u2019t heal, which may indicate<em> squamous cell cancer<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most bumps and moles aren\u2019t cancerous, but your doctor should check any suspicious spots. These lesions are usually easy to treat or remove at the early stage. You can find <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aad.org\/spot-skin-cancer\/learn-about-skin-cancer\/types-of-skin-cancer\" target=\"_blank\">pictures here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Screenings for the most serious form of skin cancer, melanoma, follow the \u201cABCDE rule.\u201d See your doctor if you have a mole or new growth that has:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Asymmetrical<\/b> shape<\/li>\n<li>A <b>Border<\/b> with a ragged or notched edge<\/li>\n<li><b>Colors <\/b>that include more than one shade of brown or black, or red, white, or blue pigment<\/li>\n<li>A <b>Diameter<\/b> bigger than a pencil eraser<\/li>\n<li><b>Evolved<\/b> in shape, size, color, or texture (taking mole selfies is an easy way to keep track)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Melanoma kills about 10,000 Americans a year, but with early detection and proper treatment, it is nearly<em> 100% curable<\/em>, according to the AAD.<\/p>\n<h2>The best daily skin protection practices<\/h2>\n<p>Whether or not you\u2019ve ever had skin cancer, these are the daily steps dermatologists recommend for prevention:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Stay out of the sun<\/strong> during prime UV time, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for most of North America<\/li>\n<li><strong>Slather on SPF 15<\/strong> or higher sunscreen and reapply it <em>every 2 hours<\/em> while you\u2019re outdoors (more often if you\u2019re swimming or sweating). Protect your lips, and if you have thinning hair, scars on your scalp, or are bald, protect your \u201csun roof\u201d with sunscreen or a hat.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dress for healthy skin.<\/strong> Long-sleeved shirts and pants work for average days. For outdoor adventures, clothing with a UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) of 40 or better provides \u201cexcellent UV protection,\u201d according to the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/melanomafoundation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">American Melanoma Foundation<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Invest in UVA\/UVB blocking sunglasses.<\/strong> The CDC recommends wraparound styles for glare protection.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Avoid stealth sun exposure.<\/strong> Driving, working indoors by a sunny window, and going outside on cloudy days expose you to UV rays. Put your sunscreen habit on autopilot and you\u2019ll always be protected.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Skip the tanning bed.<\/strong> If you must have a golden glow, use self-tanner or get a spray tan. Then protect your newly bronzed skin with plenty of sunscreen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Checking for lesions may seem like looking for trouble, but a little care now can save you lots of trouble later. And if you skip sunscreen because of the oily feel, check out the next-generation products that are as light as regular lotion or even dry to a powder finish. Find a skin protection routine that works for you so you can enjoy the outdoors now without paying for it later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Skin Cancer\u00a0Prevention Summer sun is around the corner, and May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Skin cancer is the most common cancer, and people over 50 are most likely to develop it. Regular screenings and daily preventive measures can cut your risk, and now is the perfect time to step up your sun-protection game. If you had childhood sunburns and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,35],"tags":[45,402,403],"class_list":{"0":"post-4959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-families-caregivers","7":"category-senior-health-fitness","8":"tag-senior-health","9":"tag-skin-cancer-awareness-month","10":"tag-summer"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Skin Cancer Prevention<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Skin cancer is the most common cancer, and people over 50 are most likely to develop it. Here&#039;s how to stay healthy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Skin Cancer Prevention\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Skin cancer is the most common cancer, and people over 50 are most likely to develop it. Here&#039;s how to stay healthy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-05T12:00:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-04-18T16:00:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casey Kelly-Barton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casey Kelly-Barton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/skin-cancer-prevention\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/skin-cancer-prevention\/\",\"name\":\"Skin Cancer Prevention\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-05T12:00:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-18T16:00:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a97863c1f6d466031974be45ce9c8e08\"},\"description\":\"May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Skin cancer is the most common cancer, and people over 50 are most likely to develop it. Here's how to stay healthy.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/skin-cancer-prevention\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/skin-cancer-prevention\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/skin-cancer-prevention\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Skin Cancer Prevention\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\",\"description\":\"Empowering Families in their Search for Care\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a97863c1f6d466031974be45ce9c8e08\",\"name\":\"Casey Kelly-Barton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65d330a9fbb7308264432649d5324f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65d330a9fbb7308264432649d5324f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Casey Kelly-Barton\"},\"description\":\"Casey Kelly-Barton is an Austin-based freelance writer whose childhood was made awesome by her grandmothers, great-grandmother, great-aunts and -uncles, and their friends.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/author\/caseykb\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Skin Cancer Prevention","description":"May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Skin cancer is the most common cancer, and people over 50 are most likely to develop it. Here's how to stay healthy.","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Skin Cancer Prevention","og_description":"May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Skin cancer is the most common cancer, and people over 50 are most likely to develop it. Here's how to stay healthy.","og_site_name":"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","article_published_time":"2015-05-05T12:00:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-04-18T16:00:15+00:00","author":"Casey Kelly-Barton","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Casey Kelly-Barton","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/skin-cancer-prevention\/","url":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/skin-cancer-prevention\/","name":"Skin Cancer Prevention","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-05-05T12:00:47+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-18T16:00:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a97863c1f6d466031974be45ce9c8e08"},"description":"May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Skin cancer is the most common cancer, and people over 50 are most likely to develop it. Here's how to stay healthy.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/skin-cancer-prevention\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/skin-cancer-prevention\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/05\/skin-cancer-prevention\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Skin Cancer Prevention"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/","name":"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","description":"Empowering Families in their Search for Care","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a97863c1f6d466031974be45ce9c8e08","name":"Casey Kelly-Barton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65d330a9fbb7308264432649d5324f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65d330a9fbb7308264432649d5324f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Casey Kelly-Barton"},"description":"Casey Kelly-Barton is an Austin-based freelance writer whose childhood was made awesome by her grandmothers, great-grandmother, great-aunts and -uncles, and their friends.","url":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/author\/caseykb\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4959"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2198"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4959"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11704,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4959\/revisions\/11704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}