How To Prevent Squamous Skin Cancer

How to Prevent Squamous Cell Skin Cancer

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Like melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma is a type of cancer that affects the skin. Squamous cell carcinoma is a serious, but preventable, form of skin cancer. However, when left untreated squamous cell carcinoma starts as a growth on your skin, but spreads to other parts of your body causing more serious harm. Therefore, you should know how to prevent squamous cell skin cancer to stop or catch the cancer early.

Steps

1. Understand why squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer develops.
   • Squamous cell carcinomas develop from continuous exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The UV radiation typically comes from staying in the sunlight or sitting in tanning beds or under tanning lamps over long periods.
2. Protect your skin.
   • Wear sunscreen or sunblock lotion all year-even on cloudy days. You should use a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. Apply the lotion at least 30 minutes before going outside.
   • Wear protective clothing like a hat with a broad-brim and photo-protective clothing.
3. Minimize exposure to the sun and damaging UV radiation.
   • Avoid the midday sun. Generally, regardless of the season such as winter or weather conditions, sunlight is the strongest during the hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
   • Don't use tanning beds or tanning lamps. The UV radiation can penetrate deeper into the skin causing cancerous lesions. You should also avoid tanning in the sunlight.
4. Know the symptoms of squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer. Squamous cell occurs on any area of your body including your anus, the inside of your mouth and on your genitals.
   • Red nodules that are firm appear on your hands, neck, face, lower lip or arms. The nodules may bleed.
   • Scaly crusted flat lesions appear on your face, neck, ears, arms or hands.
   • A pre-existing scar becomes raised or ulcerated.
   • A red patch or a sore develops on your genitals or in your anus.
   • A white patch shows up in your mouth. The white patch appears flat or ulcerated.
5. Perform monthly skin checks.
   • One day each month-typically on the same day-stand in front of a full-length mirror and perform the skin check. Look for any changes in freckles, bumps, birthmarks and new growths on your skin.
6. You can use the ABCDE rule to look for squamous cell carcinoma. Check moles for that are asymmetrical. Thus, the moles don't look the same on either side. Look for moles that have borders that are jagged. You should look at moles for any color, diameter and elevation changes.
7. Consult your dermatologist.
   • Make a yearly appointment with a dermatologist to make sure that you don't have squamous cell skin cancer.

Warnings

• Talk to your pharmacist about any side effects of prescribed medications. Typically, antibiotics, acne and high blood pressure medications cause your skin to become more sensitive to sunlight. Some over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen also can cause your skin to become more sensitive to the sun.

Sources and Citations

• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/squamous-cell-carcinoma/DS00924
• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/squamous-cell-carcinoma/DS00924/DSECTION=prevention
• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/squamous-cell-carcinoma/DS00924/DSECTION=symptoms
• http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/cancer/risk/614.html

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