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May Is Skin Cancer Awareness Month
At The Tan Cabana, our first and foremost priority is making you feel and look beautiful THE HEALTHY WAY--with our all-natural, vegan and organic spray tan that has no harmful effects on your skin or health.
May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, and to live up to our creed, The Tan Cabana wants to share a lot of important information with you about various skin cancers, how to prevent them, how to DETECT them, and how skin cancers are treated if you're diagnosed with one or more.
Important Facts about Skin Cancer, Tanning Beds, Ultraviolet Radiation and Skin Aging:
-Skin cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in the WORLD.
-Skin cancer is the uncontrollable growth of ABNORMAL skin cells, and it occurs when DNA damage is done to skin cells to trigger mutations that multiply and form malignant tumors.
-The main culprit of skin cancer diagnoses is UV (ultraviolet radiation), which comes from the sun and artificial sources like tanning beds and sunlamps.
-Melanoma is the most dangerous skin cancer, causing one death per HOUR in the United States.
-People who first use a tanning bed before turning 35 increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent.
-If caught early, skin cancer is highly treatable (even melanoma).
-An estimated 90 percent of skin aging is caused by ultraviolet radiation and the sun.
-People who use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher daily show 24 percent less skin aging than those who do not.
-MORE PEOPLE DEVELOP SKIN CANCER FROM TANNING BEDS THAN PEOPLE WHO DEVELOP LUNG CANCER FROM SMOKING.
(Source for all facts: Skin Cancer Foundation)
Please--for the sake of your health, if you have a special event coming up or want to look and feel glowing and tan, schedule a Tan Cabana spray tan with us and save your skin and yourself! We offer student discounts and package deals so that EVERYONE can afford it while protecting their wellness!
Different Types of Skin Cancers and Precancers:
-Actinic Keratosis: a precancer that typically forms on sun-exposed skin in the form of lesions.
-Dysplastic Nevi (Atypical Moles): unusual benign moles that may resemble melanoma--people who have them are at increased risk of developing single or multiple melanomas in their lifetimes.
-Basal Cell Carcinoma: most common form of skin cancer, these abnormal, uncontrolled growths or lesions arise in the skin’s basal cells, which line the deepest layer of the epidermis (the outermost layer of the skin). Appear like red or pink bumps or open sores--rarely do they spread beyond the original site.
-Merkel Cell Carcinoma: A rare, aggressive skin cancer that is at high risk of recurring and spreading (metastasizing) throughout the body, with most recurrences taking place within two years after diagnosis of the primary tumor.
-Squamous Cell Carcinoma: second most common form of skin cancer, these are uncontrolled growths of abnormal cells arising in the squamous cells, which comprise most of the skin’s upper layers (the epidermis). Appear like scaly red patches, open sores, elevated growths with a central depression, or warts; they may crust or bleed. They can become disfiguring and sometimes deadly if allowed to grow.
-Melanoma: often resemble moles; some develop from moles. The majority of melanomas are black or brown, but they can also be skin-colored, pink, red, purple, blue or white. Melanoma is caused mainly by intense, occasional UV exposure (frequently leading to sunburn), especially in those who are genetically predisposed to the disease. Melanoma kills an estimated 10,130 people in the US annually.
(Source for all facts: Skin Cancer Foundation)
How to Prevent Skin Cancer:
-Wear a sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher on ANY exposed skin, every day.
-DO NOT use tanning booths or beds, and limit your sun exposure.
-Cover up skin whenever possible with clothing, hats, and UV-blocking sunglasses.
-Do not get sunburns (they increase risk of skin cancer and aging).
-Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before sun exposure, and continue to reapply it every two hours after swimming or perspiration.
-Examine your skin monthly from head to toe for any abnormalities.
-Schedule an appointment with your dermatologist YEARLY for checkups.
How to Detect Skin Cancer:
-Perform self-exams every month, looking for these warning signs:
1. A skin growth that increases in size and appears pearly, translucent, tan, brown, black, or multicolored.
2. A mole, beauty mark, birthmark or brown spot that:
-changes color
-increases in size or thickness
-is irregular
-changes in texture
-is larger than the size of a pencil eraser (about 1/4 inch)
-appears after you've turned 21
3. An open sore that hasn't healed within three weeks.
How Skin Cancer is Treated:
1. Surgery: for most skin cancers, the treatment is surgery to remove the growth. Surgery is dependent on the kind of cancer, the size of the cancer, the stage of cancer, and where it is.
2. Radiotherapy: used if the cancer covers a wide area, or if the skin cancer has gone to other organs like lymph nodes.
3. Chemotherapy: tablets and injections--this option is used when cancer has spread to other areas of the body.
4. Immunotherapy: a new type of treatment that utilizes the immune system to fight cancer cells.
5. Photodynamic Therapy: another new treatment, this option is to replace surgery and uses a drug to make skin cells sensitive to light, and then the cancer cells are destroyed with the light.
(Source for all facts: Cancer Research UK)
Above all, The Tan Cabana wants you to be informed, thoughtful, and to protect your skin at all costs. If we can help to keep our clients safe by increasing awareness and advocating for skin safe options like spray tanning and sun safety, then we will do everything possible! Contact us today to schedule your professional airbrush tan with us!
