Common Misconceptions Concerning Skin Cancer
The sun is an excellent natural source of vitamin D. This vitamin is essential in regulating phosphate and calcium, which helps you in bone development. However, extreme exposure to sunlight can trigger more harm than good, especially on your skin health. For example, harmful UV rays can cause sun damage Fort Worth conditions such as skin cancer. This condition usually occurs when excess UV radiation damages DNA in your skin cells. Consequently, you will have brown spots on your skin due to abnormal cell growth. Despite the prevalence of skin cancer, many people perpetuate misunderstandings about this condition. Below are misconceptions that you should never believe about skin cancer.
Dark-Skinned Individuals Do Not Get Skin Cancer
Perhaps you have heard some people claiming that dark skin people are immune to this skin condition. The reality is that while light-skinned people are more vulnerable to skin cancer, the dark skin individuals can also suffer from this condition. Most dark-skinned persons are diagnosed with this condition at a more advanced stage due to this misconception. Therefore, irrespective of your skin type and color, you should always take necessary precautions outdoors.
Sun Damage Cannot Occur on a Cloudy Day
Some people claim that your skin cannot get burned without strong lights. However, the reality is that harmful UV rays can still penetrate through clouds. The UV levels could be quite high even on cool summer days. Consequently, you could get skin cancer even on overcast days. You should therefore be aware of the UV levels through applications such as SunSmart. This way, you can easily notice when to stay indoors.
Base Tan Will Prevent Skin Cancer
The idea of sun protection with base tan has been prevailing for years. Many believe a slight tan will protect their skin from sun damage. However, a tan on your skin is just a way of communicating that your skin has some damage. These tans are not strong enough to protect your skin from sun exposure. Instead, it would help if you relied on the sunscreens having a minimum of 30 as a sun protection factor.
Sun Is the Only Cause of Skin Cancer
UV rays are the leading cause of skin cancer. Over eighty percent of skin cancer cases are attributed to excessive sunlight exposure. However, you can still develop this condition from other factors, such as genetic factors. If your parents have had melanoma, it is more likely that you will suffer from this type of skin cancer. Therefore, you should always monitor abnormal changes in your skin even if you stay indoors.
Only Older People Get This Condition
You may think that skin cancer affects seniors only, but you are mistaken. Skin cancer, such as melanoma, can affect individuals even in their twenties. Besides, individuals more exposed to the sun at a younger age are more vulnerable to skin cancer in their old age. Therefore, prevention for this condition counts at any age. The main determinant is exposure to sunlight throughout your life right.
Skin cancer is one of the leading sun damage conditions. It occurs when harmful UV rays stimulate the formation of abnormal skin cells. Fortunately, there are different treatment options that you can lean on to alleviate these cancerous growths. The right information about this condition will help make your treatment journey desirable and effective. That is why it is necessary to understand the above-debunked myths as you pursue treatments. You will learn that skin cancer does not discriminate against individuals based on skin type or age.
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