Signs of Skin Cancer

The best way to protect yourself from further damage from the sun is through sunscreen use and SPF clothing. Because by the time you've accumulated damage (whether it's sunspots, wrinkles, or cancer) only total avoidance is your best bet. Fortunatley, UV protective clothing and sun protection UVA/UVB blocking hats are stylish and fashionable these days.

Five Signs of Skin Cancer

This is to help you remember what signs to look for when doing a periodic self examination. So here are the ABC’s:

• A - Assymmetry: Check all moles or growths for any irregular shapes. Meaning the top half of the mole should look similar to the bottom half and the left side should look similar to the right side.
  
  

  In normal or non-cancerous growths, both halves and/or both sides are similar in shape – if not, you should seek the advice of your physician or dermatologist. Better to be safe than sorry.

• B - Border : Border irregularities refer to the outside edges of the growth or mole. Check to see if they are ragged, uneven, scalloped, or notched
• C - Color : Be suspicious if the mole has variations on it’s color and is not uniform. Especially, if there are variations of color including red, white, or blue dashes giving it a molted like appearance.
• D - Diameter : The size or diameter of a mole, growth, or freckly is another one of the signs of cancer that should monitored. Any mole that is larger than 6 mm – which is about the size of a pencil erase – should be considered suspicious. Also, any new mole should be a concern too.

You should check yourself periodically for these five sign. Use a mirror and examine your body in the front and back and left and right sides. Don't forget to check the elbows, forearms, and back of upper arms. Also, examine your legs, feet and in between your toes.

Of course any mole or lesions that looks suspicious, is new, or is crusty, bleeding, or oozing could be a sign and should be looked at by a professional as soon as possible.

Protecting Yourself Against The Symptoms Of Skin Cancer

Recent research indicates that certain popular chemicals normally found in most over the counter sunscreens may be doing more harm than good The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that out of 785 sun screens analyzed -- a staggering 84% contained ingredients with safety concerns or did not provide adequate protection from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

In addition, researchers from the University of California discovered that some sun screens may not even protect against basal cell carcinoma or melanoma.

They have identified the following chemicals as being harmful:

• benzophenone-3
• 4-MBC (4-methyl-benzylidene camphor)
• PABA
• octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC)
• homosalate

Click here Sun Safety to read more.....

Until more information and research is done - it is best to stick with a natural broad spectrum sunscreen that does not contains the chemicals listed above.

After months of researching, I've come across one of the best that is not only free of harmful chemicals and protect yourself against cancer, aging wrinkles and lines.

Click here to read about the Ultimate UV Defense