Melanoma risk factors

Anything that increases a person's chance of developing a disease is called a risk factor. Though the precise cause of melanoma is unknown, the following risk factors may increase the likelihood of developing skin cancer:

• Overexposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV) – Excessive tanning bed exposure and sunbathing puts the skin at higher risk.
• Skin color Fair skinned individuals with light-colored eyes are at a higher risk than those with brown eyes.
• History of sunburns – A history of severe blistering sunburns, particularly during childhood and teenage years.
• Soft x-rays like those use in many airport scanners unlike UV are VERY penetrating passing clothing to damage skin and underlying tissues[1].
• X-rays like UV is powerful ionizing radiation very damaging dose to DNA.
• X-rays unlike UV generate hundreds of damaging events to genes, and DNA.
• Moles – An increased presence of moles or the presence of dysplastic or other atypical moles may be a warning sign of higher risk.
• Suppressed immune systems – Certain states of immunosuppression, (e.g., that of renal transplant patients and those with Hodgkin's Disease) make one more vulnerable to the risk of developing melanoma.
• Previous melanoma   – Personal or family history of melanoma gives you a genetic predisposition for developing the disease.  
• The risk of basal and squamous cell skin cancers goes up as people get older. Older people have been exposed to the sun for a longer time. Still, these cancers are now being seen in younger people too, probably because they are spending more time in the sun without protecting their skin.
• Men are 2 times as likely as women to have basal cell cancers and about 3 times as likely to have squamous cell cancers of the skin. This could be because they spend more time in the sun.
• Exposure to arsenic increases the risk of skin cancer. (Arsenic is added to some chicken feeds)
• Workers exposed to industrial tar, coal, paraffin, and certain types of oil may have an increased risk, too.
• A person with an average risk of melanoma has a 2% chance of developing melanoma during his or her lifetime. Genetic links
• People who have had radiation treatment have a higher risk of getting skin cancer in the area that was treated. This can be a problem for children who have had cancer treatment.

Edward Gorham, PhD, talks about how to use the sun, or UV light, for vitamin D synthesis.

Series: Vitamin D Deficiency - Treatment and Diagnosis

Melanoma facts

Cancer of the skin is the most common of all cancers. Melanoma accounts for about four percent of skin cancer cases, but causes about 79 percent of skin cancer deaths.

• Melanoma can spread (metastasize) quickly to other parts of the body through the lymph or circulatory systems.
• Melanoma is a more serious type of cancer than the more common skin cancers, basal cell cancer or squamous cell cancer.
• Warning signs of melanoma: change in the size, shape, or color of a mole; oozing or bleeding from a mole; a mole that feels itchy, hard, lumpy, swollen, or tender to the touch; the pigmented area of a mole doesn't look normal.  Get it checked out.

Melanoma Prevention

Like any radiation induced cancer minimizing exposure time, maximizing your distance to the source and shielding are all one can do.

• Seek shade, especially during midday hours.
• Wear clothing to protect exposed skin.
• Wear a hat with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck.
• Wear sunglasses that wrap around and block as close to 100% of both UVA and UVB rays as possible.
• Water fluoridation liked to lowering the production of protective melatonin [2]
  
• Use sunscreen with sun protective factor (SPF) 3 or higher, and both UVA and UVB protection. [5] [6]
• Not all sun screens are created equal some can cause skin cancer. [7]
• Avoid unnecessary x-ray/UV-AB (ionizing radiation)  exposure. (Distance, time and shielding are your friends) 
• A body of evidence shows greater vitamin D serum levels for prevention of many diseases including cancers, falls, heart attacks and diabetes and several others.[3]

Jeff Buske Rocky Flats Gear TM 2011 www.rockyflatsgear.com

Related Links:

Skin Cancer/Sunscreen - the Dilemma  by Edward Gorham, PhD

http://www.grassrootshealth.net/

[1] Soft x-ray damage to DNA http://www.jstor.org/pss/3580533

[2]  water fluoridation  lowering the production of melatonin

[3] 10-foods-containing-vitamin-d

http://www.skincancer.org/Vitamin-D/

Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Multivitamin Supplement Use and Stomach Cancer Mortality in the Cancer Prevention

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/11/1/35.full

[5] Vitamin A and its derivatives, retinol and retinyl palmitate used in some sun screens, may speed up cancer.  http://www.aolnews.com/2010/05/24/study-many-sunscreens-may-be-accelerating-cancer/

[6] http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/

[7] http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/sunscreens-exposed/sunscreen-and-skin-cancer/