Skin Cancer – Critical Illness Insurance
Skin cancer is one of the most growing concerns for people in the last couple of decades. It has been proven by scientist that it has a link to having too much sun exposure on the skin. There have been many people over the years that have been exposed to the sun and have used no protection at all. Britain’s skin cancer rate has increased more than any other type of cancer.
It has been found that there are two main and different types of skin cancer that can develop. These are:
- Non melanoma skin cancer – this is the most commonly found type of skin cancer and is found to be the less dangerous type if treated.
- Malignant melanoma – this is a lot more serious than non melanoma and is typically found in the within the United Kingdom age brackets of 15 to 34 year olds. This is more common in women than men, but more men are likely to die from this condition.
In most cases skin cancer is often found to be caused by over exposure to Ultra Violet – UV radiation. This is caused by the skin being in and exposed to the suns rays which contain the UV’s. It has also been thought that the everyday sun bed is also very harmful and can lead to skin cancer. In some case doctors believe that tanning beds can be actually more harmful than exposure to the sun.
Research has proven that there are certain skin types that are more prone to skin cancer. People that have light coloured skin and hardly tan, often when they are out in the sun will burn. Should a person have a background of sunburns they should be concerned about their time and exposure in the sun and also about the potential risks of skin cancer. Typically these sorts of people will also be fair haired and have a lighter eye colour. For anyone that has moles on their body also have a higher risk of getting skin cancer. If the moles are relatively large, of an unusual shape and are itchy etc then they should be watched and monitored carefully.
When it comes to skin cancer it has to be said that prevention is the best way forward. Typically people are advised to avoid all forms of tanning salons with sun beds and to reduce the amount of time that they spend in the sun with its harmful UV rays pounding down on to their bodies. If they do go out into the sun they should take precautionary measures such as hats, and clothing that are able to block the UV rays, at least a factor 15 sun protection cream (SPF) and if you are with children or small babies, keep them in the shade when possible and covered up or with sun protection on at other times.
It is essential that individual help protect themselves against skin cancer. Some of the ways of doing this can be by checking their moles for any change in shape, size or colour. If they were to find anything that they were unsure about, the best thing would be to contact their doctor and get them looked at and checked out.