Remember to wear sunscreen

By Amanda Seef
NEWS EDITOR

I, like most other students, clocked my fair share of hours in the sun this past weekend. Unfortunately, I also gained the first sunburn of the summer. My fair, almost glowingly white complexion had quickly turned to tomato red. Everywhere I went, someone asked the obvious, “What happened to you?”

This is all ironic, as I often tell my friends not to tan, and to make sure that sunscreen of the highest SPF is involved with their hours in the sun. Skin cancer, particularly melanoma, has hit my family. My mother has scars from two surgeries to prove just how dangerous one bad sunburn can be. She was diagnosed with melanoma about 16 years after her last bad sunburn, and the cancer returned again 12 years later, after she had officially been cleared as cancer free. Skin cancer is a complete surprise, but you’ll probably be able to remember why you have it.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society, and the number of cases continue to rise after the rapid popularity of tanning beds. Sun exposure and UV rays accelerate aging and make 30-year-old skin look like that of a 40 or 50-year-old.

It is most often the sun exposure before adulthood that can lead to a case of skin cancer — be it melanoma or not — later in life.

There are three main forms of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Melanoma accounts for four percent of all skin cancer and “the most lethal form of skin cancer.” Melanoma will rapidly spread to the lymph nodes and internal organs, as it is based in cells that give skin its color. One person dies per hour from melanoma. Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma both take place in the lower and upper epidermis, normally keeping them from spreading to other organs and the lymph nodes.

According to the American Cancer Society, most diagnosed skin cancers can be avoided with proper protection from the sun’s rays.

Although most people can recognize that overexposure to the sun is dangerous for their skin, most do not take the proper precautions to protect themselves.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime if current tanning trends continue. It is expected that one in 65 will develop melanoma in their lifetime, making melanoma the second most common cancer in women ages 20 to 29, second only to breast cancer.

Keeping safe in the sun is as easy as applying sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher, and avoiding the sunlight during the time where the sun is at it’s highest and hottest points — between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

Though it is seen as healthy and fashionable to have a golden-bronze tint to your skin, taking active measures to protect yourself from a preventable, yet deadly form of cancer is more important than keeping your glow. Natural, glowing skin is where it’s at.

If you do get burned, seek relief with an aloe-based product with lidocaine. It is a topical pain relief and the coolness of aloe will keep your skin from feeling like it’s on fire. Make sure you let your skin breathe for a day or two, which will help take the burn from red to a tan.

And if you know you’re going to be in the sun, don’t wear an awkwardly cut shirt. Thanks to my fashion choices, I have a trapezoid shaped tan line on my chest.

Editorial: Freedom of speech or hate crime

Luettger: Harry Potter offers more than entertainment

Seef: Remember to always wear sunscreen

Craddock: Save a pet, make a difference

Jennings: Increasing prices affect hops

Democracy Matters campaigns for fair elections

Couldn't wait for the summer at the Warped Tour