Save Your Skin
What to look for when we conduct self exams
It’s officially summertime in the Central California Women’s Facility. We are fully staffed, the yard is open and it’s 80 degrees in the shade. There is a sea of grey and white uniforms dotting the barren landscape that passes for a lawn. Our regular “yard joggers” are doing their usual laps.
There is no shade other than the awning by the med-line and any other shaded area is marked clearly as “out of bounds.”
Sun’s out, skins out, with no thought to the dangers inherent in exposing your body’s largest organ — the skin — to the harmful rays of the sun.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACs), “exposure to ultraviolet, UV-rays, is the biggest major risk factor for most melanomas, a serious form of skin cancer.”
People differ greatly in their sensitivity and response to sunlight based on the amount of melanin in their skin. There are many simple precautions that help to prevent sunburns on all skin types. People with a higher amount of melanin in their skin are not immune to the effects of the sun and are just as likely to get skin cancer if sun exposure is not mitigated.
Sun exposure is less intense before 10am and after 3pm, because the sun is lower in the sky and more of the sunburn-causing UVB rays are filtered by the atmosphere during these times.
Exposure to bright midday sun should not be greater than 30 minutes. To be clear, the presence of clouds does nothing to mitigate the risk.
Your best one stop shop for protection is free at your local canteen store: SUNBLOCK. While the liberal application of sunscreen will help protect skin from sunburn and chronic sun damage, it does not always prevent damage. To avoid sunscreen failure, it’s important to apply enough product, put it on at least 30 minutes before sun exposure, and reapply after exercise.
While covering up may be the antithesis to the sun’s out skins out ethos, the fact remains that skin should be covered with tightly woven clothing, which blocks the sun better than fabrics with a loose weave. Similarly, hats with a broad brim help to protect the face, ears and neck. Lastly, it is crucial to always remember to protect your eyes with sunglasses.
As always, prevention is best; however, early detection could be the difference between having to surgically excise layers of your epidermis and dermis. God forbid, what starts out as a mole becomes a cancer that spreads to other parts of your body. When viewed in that way, an ounce of prevention, in this case an ounce of sunblock, could quite literally save your life.
Best practice guidelines suggest doing your own skin exams. Granted, there may be some areas you can’t easily see; however, at the very least, familiarize yourself with the landscape of your skin so that when an unfamiliar spot or mole appears, you’re more likely to notice it.
Check your skin regularly, look for any new or changing moles, spots or lesions. Use the ABCDE warning signs that could indicate whether a mole may be a melanoma
A is for asymmetry: If the mole is cut straight down the middle, one half of it doesn’t match the other half.
B is for border: The edges are irregular, ragged or blurry.
C is for color: A mix of colors, shades of brown, black or even blue.
D is for diameter: Larger than 6 millimeters, or the size of a pencil eraser.
E is for evolution: Changing in size, shape, color, itchy and bleeding.
The ACS states that an “estimated 104,960 new cases of invasive melanomas are expected to be diagnosed in the United States this year, while approximately 8,430 Americans are projected to die from the disease.” in a heavy-handed manner, that disparities in sentencing do exist. However, for the most part, it does little for us to hyperfocus on the exceptions to the “justice” rule.
