Promoting Optimal Wellness for Body, Mind and Spirit
August is Skin Cancer Prevention Month – Here Are Some Important Sun Safety Tips
Summertime means beach vacations with locals and tourists alike flocking to Cape Ann’s Many Beautiful Beaches – Cape Hedge, Cressy, Good Harbor, Half moon, Front/Back, White/Black, Long, Lighthouse, Magnolia, Niles, Pavillion, Pebble, Plum Cove, Singing, Wingaersheek … each one beautiful and unique.
Be Safe From the Summer Sun
Days at the beach signify relaxation and ‘fun in the sun.’ But too much sun can lead to early wrinkles and worse … Skin Cancer. You can still enjoy exercising outdoors and a fun day at the beach, but it is in your best interest to take precautions and practice ‘sun safety’ to best avoid the damaging effects of the sun and skin cancer.
Facts from the American Cancer Society:
- The skin is the largest organ of the body
- Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer
- Skin cancer is preventable and when caught early, easily treatable
Risk factors for skin cancer include:
- Too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation (from sunlight or tanning beds and lamps)
- Pale skin (easily sunburned, doesn’t tan much or at all, natural red or blond hair)
- Exposure to large amounts of coal-tar, paraffin, arsenic compounds, or certain types of oil
- You or members of your family have had skin cancers
- Multiple or unusual moles
- Severe sunburns in the past
- Weakened immune system
- Older age (although melanomas can also occur in younger people)
Source and More information – http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/sunanduvexposure/skin-cancer-facts
Cape Ann Wellness 