CDC issues sun damage prevention advisory

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer some safety tips for those who are anxious to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine this time of year.

May is Skin Detection and Prevention Month, and the CDC, along with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, are urging Kansas residents to use caution before stepping outside to help prevent skin cancer.

"Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States," KDHE Secretary Roderick Bremby said. "More than one million skin cancers are diagnosed annually in the United States, with more than 90 percent of those directly related to overexposure to the sun."

Everyone can take some common sense steps to protect themselves from the sun and prevent skin cancer. The CDC recommends the following skin protection options:

* Rub on sunscreen to protect exposed skin, even in cloudy weather. Choose a sunscreen and a lip balm with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or higher.

* Use sunglasses that block as close to 100 percent of ultraviolet rays from the sun to protect the eyes and prevent cataracts later in life.

* Wear a hat that shades the face, ears, scalp and neck.

* Cover up with clothing that has a tight weave to protect from the sun's rays.

* Seek shade under a tree, beach umbrella, tent or other shelter when outside.

* Avoid exposure to the sun between the peak hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

One in five Americans, including one in three Caucasians, will develop skin cancer during the course of their lifetime. Children are especially vulnerable to the sun's damaging rays, and one blistering sunburn in childhood more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, later in life, the KDHE statement said.

Skin cancer is classified in three basic types; basal cell, squamous cell, and melanoma. In Kansas, 513 new cases of melanoma were diagnosed in 2005, and 93 people died from the disease, the statement said.

More than 80 percent of all skin cancers are classified as basal cell; the most common type of skin cancer. This type of cancer has tripled in U.S. women under the age of 40 in the last 30 years. Squamous cell skin cancer will be diagnosed in 250,000 Americans each year. Melanoma will account for more than 62,000 cases of skin cancer in 2006, and of the 10,700 skin cancer deaths each year in America, nearly 8,000 will result from this type of cancer, the KDHE statement said.