Coming to Terms with the Sun

Generations of men and women are finally coming to terms with the summers they have spent enjoying the outdoors and sunshine without proper skin protection and skin care. Pittsburgh is home to many folks that did not know warnings about skin cancer and sun damage even existed when they were younger and advances in medical science have completely changed the way they spend their time outdoors. But for many, old habits die hard. Once a sun worshipper, always a sun worshipper.

Thankfully, many of these men and women are dealing with a lot of the adverse effects of sun damage and the way it speeds up the aging process within our skin care. Pittsburgh residents often visit doctors for elective cosmetic procedures to help them look younger. Frequent visits to the doctor encourage evaluation of sun-exposed areas for common types of skin cancer. Early detection and treatment is one of the best treatments for skin cancer and advanced recognition is helping to delay the development of metastatic cancer or prevent it completely.

And yet, the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force still does not support whole body skin cancer screening in susceptible individuals. In turn, insurers do not often cover this type of screening because of the group’s recommendation that it may lead to more episodes of incorrect diagnoses and increase risks of side effects from biopsies or treatment.

In the end, only you know how much time you spend in the sun unprotected and should have every mole or suspicious skin lesion evaluated on a regular basis. Talk to your primary care physician about a referral to a dermatologist if you are at all concerned about skin cancer. And remember to wear sunscreen!