Tips to Prevent Skin Cancer
By Sara Butler
When it comes to skin cancer, you may not be able to totally eliminate your risk (aside from moving underground), but there are some simple things you can do to reduce your chances. Being safe in the sun, eating a healthy diet, and reducing other risk factors in your lifestyle are all easy things you can do to reduce the chances of developing this deadly disease. Here are a few tips to help you get started with your skin cancer prevention program.
Lifestyle Changes
When it comes to skin cancer, everyday things you do can have a big impact. You can't do anything about how you've exposed yourself in the past, but you can make changes now that help you to have a brighter future, such as:
- Wearing sunscreen - Make sure to choose a good sunscreen when you're planning to be out in the sun. You need both UVA and UVB protection and apply it 30 minutes before you plan to go out and reapply it every couple of hours. If you're swimming, you may need to reapply more frequently.
- Stay safe - While sunscreen is important, there are other things you can do to reduce your chances of skin damage while in the sun. Try staying out of the mid-day sun, which is the strongest, wear protective clothing, and invest in a good hat or umbrella to shade you. Sunglasses are important too in order to protect your eyes.
- Eat healthy - Believe it or not, you can do a lot to mitigate the damage of the sun through your diet. A diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables has been found to reduce the chance of skin cancer as well as other medical conditions.
- Quit smoking - Smoking can increase the risk of developing a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, so there's no time like the present to cut this habit out of your life
Get Skin Checks
Diagnosing skin cancer early is one of the most important things you can do for a good prognosis. You may want to spend some time every few months checking out all of your own moles and freckles, but you also want to see a dermatologist every so often for a real once-over. Remember, skin cancer can strike anyone, no matter age, skin color, or race.
Skin cancer is serious -- and preventable. Do what you can to take care of your skin.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Englewood, Colo.
