Heather Verity Audience: High School Students Skin Cancer

WHAT IS SKIN CANCER?  Abnormal growth of skin cells  Sun exposure  3 types:  Basal cell carcinoma  Squamous cell carcinoma  Melanoma

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA  Most common  Areas with most sun exposure  Appearance:  Pearly or waxy bump  Flat, skin-colored/brown lesion

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA CONTINUED  Symptoms:  Skin sore that doesn’t heal/bleeds easily  Scar-like sore  Irregular blood vessels in the area  A sore with a sunken area in the middle  Grows slowly and painlessly  Almost never spreads

SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA  Sun-exposed areas  Appearance:  Firm, red nodule  Flat lesion with scaly, crusty surface

SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA CONTINUED  Bowen’s Disease  Symptoms:  Initial area larger than 1 inch  Growing bump with rough, scaly surface and flat reddish patches  Sore that doesn’t heal

MELANOMA  Not as common  Leading cause of death  Changes in melanocytes  4 different types;  Superficial spreading melanoma  Nodular melanoma  Lentigo maligna melanoma  Acral lentiginous melanoma

SUPERFICIAL SPREADING MELANOMA  Most common  Caucasians  Symptoms:  Flat  Irregular in shape and color

NODULAR MELANOMA  Begins as a raised area  Dark blackish blue/red  No color

LENTIGO MALIGNA MELANOMA  Elderly  Sun damaged skin  Symptoms:  Large, flat areas  Tan or brown skin

ACRAL LENTIGINOUS MELANOMA  Least common  Most in African Americans  Palms, soles, under nails

THE ‘ABCDE’ SYSTEM Asymmetry Borders Color Diameter Evolution

TREATMENT  Non-Melanoma:  Excision  Cryosurgery  Medication  Photodynamic therapy  Melanoma:  Surgery  Chemotherapy  Immunotherapy  Radiation

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?  Past 3 decades- more skin cancer than any other kind  1 in 5 Americans  More new cases than combined breast, prostate, lung, colon  Premature aging  90% of the visible changes

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?  Indoor tanning:  170,000 annual skin cancer cases  75% increased risk of melanoma if used before 35  More than once a month=55% more likely  68,000+ diagnosed with Melanoma/year  1 out of 8 will die

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?  A tan is a sign of DNA damage  Sunburn  Doubles your chances STOP TANNING!

IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!  Courtney  16  Wide excision surgery  Interferon treatment  Liver damage  80% recurrence rate  Other True Stories Other True Stories

PREVENTION Sunscreen SPF 15+ Broad-Spectrum SunglassesClothingShadeExams Self Dermatologist

ALTERNATIVES  Spray tan  Self tanning lotions Stamp of approval!

 Natural, healthy skin  Stop associating tanned skin with beauty  Mineral makeup

BE AN ADVOCATE!  Congress to increase indoor tanning regulations  Fundraiser  Sun safety at schools  Community

BE SUN SMART!

REFERENCES     annually/story?id= annually/story?id= 