Skin Cancer

Without debate, exposure to the sun is the most significant cause of melanoma and the more common non-melanoma skin cancers. One of the most disturbing problems regarding skin cancer is that, even though proper protection from the sun can drastically reduce its incidence, its incidence has dramatically risen over the past two decades killing almost as many Americans as all the other types of cancers combined, “From 1973 to 1990, malignant melanoma incidence rates doubled. It is estimated that nearly one million new cases of skin cancer occur each year in the United States, almost equal to all other cancers combined” (Appling 1). There are many factors suspected in the growing incid

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o able to spread to other parts of the body. Yet, in most cases these types of skin cancer are not deadly. However, melanoma is. One of the biggest problems with melanoma is that it can appear suddenly with no prior warning or it may develop from an already existing mole. Melanoma has a much higher incidence in white, fair or light skinned individuals with blonde or red hair and freckles and/or moles. Self-examination of moles is an important prevention method because moles that appear much larger than others, ones that are variable in color or have irregular borders are all highly suspect as potential melanoma sites. Skin cancer can occur in non-caucasian individuals, but because of their high level of melatonin in the skin, black people seldom develop skin cancer, though protection from over-exposure to the sun is recommended despite the small risk, “African Americans have one-tenth the risk of melanoma of whites, and the incidence of basal-cell and squamous-cell carcinomas is even lower. Black skin contains liberal amounts of the pigment melatonin, which functions as sort of an internal sunscreen. Still, doctors recommend that their black patients wear sunscreen during long bouts of intense sun exposure because of the r
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Some common words found in the essay are:
TYPES CAUSES, CANCER TREATMENT, CANCER PREVENTION, Cancer Society, Association AMA, SYMPTOMS DIAGNOSIS, Intron Interferon, Stage Appling, STAGE Melanomas, African Americans, skin cancer, exposure sun, basal-cell carcinoma, lymph nodes, squamous-cell carcinoma, lymph node, cancer melanoma, layer skin, skin cancer melanoma, appling 2, sun exposure, slow cancer growth, types skin cancer, nearby lymph nodes, development skin cancer,
Approximate Word count = 2850
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)