Skin Cancer Prevention and Detection

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Mountainous areas, like the Tri-Cities, have diagnosis rates that are higher than the national average because the sun's ultraviolet rays are strongest at high altitudes. This is why it is so important to practice sun protection habits and get regular skin checks.

Fortunately, skin cancer has a high cure rate when it is detected and treated early.

Prevention: Minimizing sun exposure is the best way to avoid skin cancer.

• Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more daily. Reapply every two hours when outside.
• Stay in the shade between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. when the sun's UV rays are strongest.
• Wear sun protective clothing, hats, and sunglasses.
• Avoid tanning beds.

Skin Cancer FACTS from the Skin Cancer Foundation

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 3.5 million skin cancers in over two million people are diagnosed annually.
• Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
• Treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancers increased by nearly 77 percent between 1992 and 2006.
• Over the past three decades, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.
• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
• 13 million white non-Hispanics living in the US at the beginning of 2007 had at least one nonmelanoma skin cancer, typically diagnosed as basal cell carcinoma (BCC) or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
• Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer; an estimated 2.8 million are diagnosed annually in the US. BCCs are rarely fatal, but can be highly disfiguring if allowed to grow.
• Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common form of skin cancer. An estimated 700,000 cases of SCC are diagnosed each year in the US.
• The incidence of squamous cell carcinoma has been rising, with increases up to 200 percent over the past three decades in the US.
• About 2 percent of squamous cell carcinoma patients - between 3,900 and 8,800 people - died from the disease in the US in 2012.
• Between 40 and 50 percent of Americans who live to age 65 will have either BCC or SCC at least once.
• Actinic keratosis is the most common precancer; it affects more than 58 million Americans.
• Approximately 65 percent of all squamous cell carcinomas and 36 percent of all basal cell carcinomas arise in lesions that previously were diagnosed as actinic keratoses.
• About 90 percent of nonmelanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
• Half of all adults report at least one sunburn in the past 12 months.

Detection: Check your skin for changes every month and make regular appointments for skin checks with Dr. Reaves.

Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma can look like any of the following:

• Dome-shaped bump with visible blood vessels
• Crusted growth
• Shiny, pink section of skin
• Rough, red patch of skin
• Lesion that bleeds or will not heal

Follow the ABCDE guide to check your moles for signs of melanoma:

• A: Asymmetry - One half is unlike the other half
• B: Border irregularity - Borders are poorly defined
• C: Color - Multiple colors are present in the same spot
• D: Diameter - Mole is larger than a pencil eraser
• E: Evolving - Spot has changed in size or color