SO, HOW ARE WE DOING IN THE WAR ON SKIN CANCER?
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Although skin cancer is more common than all other cancers combined, we have made impressive strides in terms of prevention, early detection and treatment of these cancers. And May, Skin Cancer Awareness Month, serves as a good time to look back on some of the wins, identify remaining opportunities and double down on the strategies that we know work.
“We are doing really well,†says Desiree Ratner, MD, Director of the Comprehensive Skin Cancer Program at Mount Sinai Downtown in New York City. “If skin cancer is caught early, it’s curable, and we are catching more skin cancers early.â€
Here’s where we stand today:
Skin Cancer Prevention
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AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION CAN SAVE YOUR SKIN…AND YOUR LIFE
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May is lots of things to lots of people. To me, it’s when I celebrate my birthday as well as my brother’s, sister’s and daughter’s birthday. It’s when May Day and Cinco de Mayo and Holocaust Remembrance Day and Mother’s Day and Memorial Day are celebrated.
May is also Skin Cancer Awareness Month, and according to recent research from the American Cancer Society 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime with the bulk of that (90%) caused by over exposure to the sun. Sun avoidance, or at least protection, is still your best weapon.
Here, the top tips to keep you covered:
Avoid the sun between the hours of 10:00am and 4:00pm when the sun is at its highest i
