ple still equate a sun tan to health and sex appeal.
There are approximately 560,000 new cases of basal-cell carcinoma and 150,00 new cases of squamous-cell carcinoma reported annually (Delaney 4). While protection from sun exposure is the best way to avoid skin cancer, there are a host of skin-cancer risk factors:
Fair skin, light hair and a tendency to burn easily
A history of painful of blistering sunburns, especially when young
A history of basal-cell or squamous-cell carcinoma are risk factors for melanoma (approximately 32,000 new cases and 6,900 deaths last year)
A family history or a personal history of melanoma
Large brown moles (larger than a quarter inch) at birth
Atypical moles (larger than a quarter inch, multicolored, unusually shaped)
A tendency to burn easily, with a history of painful or blistering sunburns
Unlike the deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma, basal-cell melanoma does not spread quickly and very seldom metastasizes, however it can do significant damage to the area surrounding the cancer causing deformation and disfigurement. Squamous-cell carcinoma occurs less frequently than basal-cell carcinoma but it can also become deadly if it goes undetected. Normally is forms on the face, mouth or ears as red scaly patches and can spread to other parts of the body. Of course, as rarely as it occurs, melanoma is still responsible for the majority of deaths associated with skin cancer. Melanoma is a disease of the skin which occurs when cancer cells are lodged in melanocytes, the melanin (pigment) producing cells of the body which gives us our skin color. Often the melanocytes are single cells, but when collections of them form together it can result in abnormal growth patterns. If these growth patterns make the cells grow and reproduce without stopping, a malignant tumor forms. These cells grow and spread rapidly after the move along the epidermis and then invade the deeper layer ...