Summer is right around the corner.
And here in San Diego, we are lucky enough to have sunny days almost year-round.
Soaking up the rays is a common pastime in America's
Finest City but it can also be dangerous when
unprotected. Today, we are putting the spotlight on
sunlight and talking to Dr. Greg Daniels at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center about skin cancer.
The symptoms, treatment options and how to prevent melanoma, which is on the rise in the United States.
Thank you so much for being with us today, Dr. Daniels.
You're welcome. Thank you for having me.
How does skin cancer develop?
Non-melanoma skin cancers like basal cells and squamous cells
happen on their extremities, face
any place we get a lot of chronic sun damage.
And, so chronic just means the more sun exposure we get the higher the risk.
Melanoma happens also in those areas
But on the trunk on the legs, other places
where the sun doesn't shine as constantly.
Even where the sun often never shines because melanoma can happen in the GI tract as well as
uncommon melanoma that's also in the eye.
What are the signs we should be looking for?
One is this is a spot that just doesn't look like any place else on your body.
So we call that more or less the ugly duckling rule,
one that's just not like the others that looks bad.
The other characteristic you want to look for is changing, so
an area that's changing more than the rest of your body.
So, we all have spots we all have lumps that they're relatively stable,
but cancer generally isn't. So it will continue to evolve
and change. So you're looking at at those two factors.
Who is at risk for skin cancer and if diagnosed
what are the treatment options available?
Everybody at least is on the list of being at risk for skin cancer.
So when they see their physician encourage everybody
to advocate for themselves.
One hundred years ago the risk of melanoma was
almost negligible maybe one in a thousand one in
five thousand kind of kind of incidence rates.
Nowadays it's one in 30 approaching that.
So in the last hundred years there's been this dramatic
increase in melanoma skin cancers
There's risks that are intrinsic to us such as our
susceptibility to other health problems.
So if you have say
chronic lymphocytic leukemia
that's an immune suppressed kind of state
those patients are at increased risk for skin cancers
or HIV infections. And it's certainly related to lifestyle.
Whether it's tanning bed exposures or other ways that
were relating to the sun.
But it's not genetic.
The best way to treat it is with surgical excision
early detection means that you have a smaller scar or
sometimes you can treat very early non-melanoma skin
cancers with non surgical techniques such as creams
or other kind of ablative techniques
What are the best ways to protect ourselves?
If you have fair skin you're at risk for a lot of UV damage
maybe you're outdoors all the time, things like that.
You want to protect yourself.
Everybody has their list of different protections that they
believe in. The American Academy of Dermatology
recommends avoiding sun between 10 and 2,
wearing sun protective clothing, applying sunscreens
appropriately, which is often and a lot.
For melanomas it's a little more controversial as to what
the best way to prevent the melanomas are.
So we apply some of the same rules of non-melanoma
skin cancers of sun moderation.
Just because it's a cloudy day doesn't mean the UV is away.
We're at risk for getting sunburned on even in those conditions.
What should we be looking for when purchasing sunscreen?
What people should look for is
something that says broad spectrum.
And that implies that both UVA and UVB is being quieted.
It depends on the organization if you're going to wear
sunscreen probably it's a 15 to a 30 that you want to apply.
One reason why the FDA capped the labeling at 50 is
at about an SPF of 50 you're blocking essentially
97 to 98 percent of the UV that's out there.
So rather than say oh, I'm good for the day because
I have an SPF of 5000, it's oh it's a 50 and oh yeah
the label says every two hours to reapply it.
It's not waterproof because that term doesn't exist
anymore in the labeling. It should say water resistant
and also give guidelines as to how often
sunscreen or sun blocks are reapplied.
Thank you so much for all the great information
and your time today.
You're very welcome. Thank you.
So whether you're hitting the beach, packing your bags
for vacation or simply enjoying mother nature in your
own backyard this summer, remember to protect
yourself from the sun.
For more information about skin cancer
and the comprehensive care we provide, please visit: