Although summer is two thirds completed, the unusually warm temperatures are continuing to beckon many of us to romp in the “great outdoors” where tennis/pickelball/bocce courts, golf courses, and, of course, swimming pools (with their higher rate of reflected UV radiation) continue to await us.
There are many from our community also that will continue to spend months “under the sun” in warmer climates this coming winter. Great numbers of Sun City residents grew up as teenagers in the 50s and 60s, loving the feel and look of a so-called “healthy looking suntan.”
Sadly numbers of these seniors have not changed their mind-set to include today’s cautionary climate from dermatologists everywhere.
Harvard’s Women’s Health Watch (7/16) tells us that “Decades of medical research have determined that sun exposure causes skin cancer and that a nutritious diet and supplementation are reliable ways to obtain the vitamin D essential for good health.”
In other words, Sun Citians, there isn’t any good reason for you to allow skin exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The newsletter adds, “There is no such thing as a healthy suntan.”
Dr. Barbara Gilchrist, a dermatologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, also states, “A tan is a response to DNA damage.” This damage leads to the development of skin cancer and also accelerates skin aging (90% of skin aging is due to the sun’s rays). Although many of us will tan well for years, eventually our skin quality will change leaving us with leathery skin texture, age spots, and coarse wrinkling.
Our country’s Skin Cancer Foundation (SCF) (8/14/15) states that between 40% and 50% of Americans who live to be age 65 will have had at least one instance of skin cancer. The foundation continues, “Caucasian men over age 65 have had a 5.1% annual increase in melanoma (the most deadly form of skin cancer) incidence since 1975…”
This is the highest increase of any gender or age group. It has also been reported that 1/2 of all skin-related deaths occur in people of 65 years or greater. Because skin cancers result from genetic mutations over the course of years, seniors have had the most sun exposure and, therefore, the most damage from ultraviolet (UV) light. The SCF does indeed adds, “The longer people live, the more likely they are to develop skin cancer and the greater their chances of dying from it.” The Skin Cancer Foundation warns us that, “As we age, our skin undergoes changes that weaken our defenses against skin disease: reduced immune systems, poorer healing capacity, thinner skin, and damage from bodily assaults from smoking to pollution.”
So why should any of us continue to put our health in harm’s way?
Make a pact today to help your skin by practicing a three-pronged program of prevention. This program includes the following items:
1. Stay out of tanning beds, which are the leading cause of developing melanoma skin cancer.
2. Use effective sun protection. Stay out of the sun from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., wear sun-safe clothing including hats and UV-filtered sunglasses (in addition, age-related macular degeneration is largely caused by sun exposure), use a SPF 30 (broad-spectrum protection) sunscreen lotion or higher to be reapplied frequently, and be aware of your skin type (lighter skin color and eyes are more subject to damage).
3. Educate yourself about suspicious skin growths and seek immediate dermatologist’s inspection, if necessary, for early life-saving treatment.
