Everyone loves the healthy look of a glowing tan, right? Well, that tan may look healthy, but it certainly isn't healthy for your skin. Over 90 percent of melanoma, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are due to sunlight exposure.
Both basal and squamous cell cancers are slow growing. This means when caught, they are generally quite curable with treatment. Malignant melanoma is also typically curable, but if it's not caught early enough, it can invade other organs of the body, thus increasing the possibility of death.
Your major concern in a health risk assessment for skin cancer is simply how much exposure you get to the sun. If you spend a great deal of time in the sun without wearing sunscreen, your risk is high.
Recent research has indicated that the significant risk factor for malignant melanoma may not be the amount of sunlight exposure, but instead the frequency and severity of sunburns. This suggestion has not been proven and is controversial.
Because the main risk factor in a skin cancer health risk assessment, sunlight exposure, is well within your control, skin cancer should be quite preventable.
