Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.
In a recent Newsletter you saw a picture of the ship I was on for my recent cruise. The top deck is really lovely where passengers can relax in the open air and sunshine. And there was certainly no shortage of sunshine, over many days, and that deck was very well used for the purposes of sunbathing. This is an activity I now never do, although I admit I was a bit of a sun-worshipper in days gone by. I was particularly struck by the number of older people still spending hours in the sun seeking the 'bronzed' look.
I loved being up on deck, but wearing my big floppy hat, under any area I could find in the shade and wearing Factor 50! This is the result of having a Basal Cell Carcinoma on my neck two years ago, which was thankfully expertly removed. It is the most common form of skin cancer but thankfully it seldom spreads to other parts of the body and is highly treatable. However, it came with a warning... that there was a strong likelihood that in the next 10 years I would have another, and this time it might be malignant. That was enough for me to keep out of the sun and I now wear a Factor 50 on my face and neck, and any other exposed areas, throughout the year.
It is a shocking fact that the gap between sun exposure and developing cancer can be as much as 40 years. Just one serious sunburn in childhood doubles a person's lifetime risk of melanoma. When I got married, I had never been abroad before and one of our presents was a 7-day trip to Torremolinos (trendy in the early 70s). Having never experienced such temperatures I got very badly sunburnt, resulting in sunstroke (I never left the hotel bedroom for five days) and the backs of my legs were so badly burnt I had to lie only on my front!
Protect Your Skin
The early suntan lotions contained ingredients designed to enhance your exposure to the sun rather than protect you from it. I remember it was not uncommon for people to use olive oil! When manufacturers started adding sunscreens to lotions in the 1970s they were nothing like the choice we have today and generally only afforded protection from the sun's UVB rays, which cause burning as well as skin cancer. They offered no protection at all from the even more damaging UVA rays, which penetrate deep into the skin's dermis and can also cause cancer.
Thankfully these days we are all so much more aware and I see my grandkids on holidays not only looking almost fully clothed as they go into a swimming pool, but also lathered in sun lotion. A key change that needs to be made by all of us is to not just wear protection for foreign holidays but all year round, as I alluded to earlier. Even with our often unsatisfactory weather, in some parts of the UK the UV levels still require some protection. Particularly for those with a lighter skin tone and blue eyes.
How Much Sunscreen?
You will be surprised to hear that on each application you should use the equivalent of 6-8 teaspoons of lotion to cover your whole body. I admit in the past to only using a thin layer, but now apply so much more. It is also a good idea to reapply every hour, and more often if you are swimming.
Don't forget those often-missed areas such as the backs of the legs, ears, top of the head and tops of the feet. Interestingly, women are most likely to develop cancer on their legs whilst men are more likely to develop it on their backs.
Wearing a hat should be the norm and with a brim of at least 7 cm. Clothes need to be a tight weave too, as the sun easily gets through any see-through garments, and many holiday outfits fall into this category.
What About Vitamin D3?
But where does that lead us with the need for Vitamin D3 – the vital vitamin we get from the sun? I remember writing about this in an earlier Newsletter and yes, we do need a very limited period of exposure to sunlight on our uncovered skin that is clean from protective sunscreen. The solution is to go out in the very early morning in the summer months, before the sun gains its strength and heat. An early morning walk for 20-30 minutes before you add sunscreen will do the trick. And if you feel you don’t get enough early sun, then take a vitamin D3 supplement.
Be Body Aware
If you spot anything on your skin that doesn't look ‘right’, or won't go away, make an appointment with your doctor. My carcinoma was just a small mark on my neck that over about 2 - 3 weeks simply would not heal, and it was a friend who said they thought it needed to be looked at. They were right!
A skin cancer tends to double in size every 3 - 6 months and there are a few ways in which you can spot the signs:
- Is it asymmetrical?
- Are the borders irregular rather than smooth?
- Is there more than one colour in the lesion?
- Is the diameter over 6mm?
- Is it growing?
TYPES OF SKIN CANCER
Non-Melanoma
These make up 80-90% of all skin cancers with at least 250,000 registered cases in the UK every year. Caught early enough they are totally treatable but, left untreated they can invade nearby tissues.
Frighteningly, 20% of non-melanoma skin cancers are squamous cell carcinomas which can be far more deadly and appear as pink patches, lumps and ulcers.
Melanoma
Full-blown melanoma is the worst-case scenario and is also known as malignant melanoma. Left untreated it can spread to other organs of the body. This is known as metastatic malignant melanoma. Around 20 years ago metastatic malignant melanoma had an average survival rate of a mere 7 months, with virtually nobody cured. Today, thanks to immunotherapy, survival rates are improved with a rate of survival around 40%.
Also, if caught at stage 1 and less than 2mm deep, it's almost 100% curable. So be vigilant, not just for yourself but for others around you. Interestingly, chemotherapy has not delivered good results for malignant melanoma.
Some cases are linked to inherited genes, and as previously mentioned, those with a pale skin and light eyes. The rise in holidays abroad, taking us away from our normal environment where maybe there is not so much sun, has now taken its toll.
So, I hope, like me, you are much more cautious now, not only when on holiday but throughout the entire year. Slap it on!
