Children Smarter than Skin Cancer

Children from an early age should be educated how to prevent skin cancer, because sun overexposure in early childhood smaller affects the development of skin cancer later in life. As a parent we have to take responsibility for educate children at an early age about sun overexposure.Regular use of sun screen in the first 18 years of life can reduce non malignant melanoma by 6 %. Sunburn in children DOUBLES the risk.

What is skin cancer?

Skin cancer is a malignant tumour that grows in the skin cells and accounts for more than 50 % of all cancers. These carcinomas occur most frequently on exposed parts of the body, in the skin exposed to sunlight.

Always examine your child's skin on a regular basis. New moles, moles that have grown or changed, and moles that are itchy or bleeding should be checked by your child's doctor.

Skin cancers usually arise from large, asymmetric moles with irregular borders and coloration.

The warning signs are:ABCDE

Sign	Characteristic
Asymmetry	When half of the mole does not match the other half
Border	When the border of the mole are ragged or irregular
Color	When the colour of the mole varies throughout
Diameter	If the mole's diameter is larger than a pencil's eraser
Elevation	Does it have a raised surface?

There are three main types of skin cancer:

Name	Description
Basal cell carcinoma	Usually appears as a small, shiny bump or nodule on the skin, mainly those areas exposed to the sun, such as the head, neck, arms, hands, and face. It more commonly occurs among people with light-coloured eyes, hair, and complexion.
Squamous cell carcinoma	More aggressive than basal cell carcinoma.Appear mainly in areas such as nodules or red, scaly patches of skin, and may be found on the face, scalp, neck, ears, lips, and mouth, hands, arms and legs. Squamous cell carcinoma can spread to other parts of the body, although this is rare. This type of skin cancer is usually found in fair-skinned people.
Malignant melanoma	Sometimes begins as a mole that then turns cancerous. This cancer may spread quickly. Malignant melanoma most often appears on fair-skinned men and women, but people with all skin types may be affected.

What causes skin cancer?

Exposure to sunlight is the major contributing factor to developing skin cancer later in life.

Skin cancer is more common in fair-skinned people, especially those with blond or red hair, who have light-coloured eyes. Other risk factors include:

• Family history of melanoma
• Prior history of skin cancer 
• Early childhood sunburns
• Many freckles
• Many ordinary moles (more than 50)
• Lowered immunity.

Prevention of skin cancer- how to help reduce the risk of sunburn and skin cancer?

No protection from the sun can be as dangerous as the sun itself.

Protect your children and yourself from excessive sun exposure when the sun is strongest (between 10 am and four p.m.) by stay in the shade.

Always remember about:

Make sure your child is dressed appropriately.

Apply sun cream with an SPF-30 or higher that protects against both UVA and UVB rays, to all areas of your child's (older than 6 months of age) body that are exposed to the sun.

Sun cream should be applied every day, even on cloudy or winter days, up to 80 percent of UV rays penetrates the clouds. Sun cream should be  apply from 30 to 15 minutes before leaving the house.

On a hot day sun cream should be applied every two hours , after swimming or excessive sweating .

Wear protective clothing like hat.Hats should provide shade for both the face, ears, and back of the neck.

Wearing sunglasses will reduce the amount of rays reaching the eye and protect the lids of the eyes, as well as the lens.

Remember, sand and pavements reflect UV rays even under an umbrella. Snow is a particularly good reflector of UV rays.

Avoid exposure to UV radiation from sunlamps or tanning parlours.

How early to start checking?

The last thing you want to think about your child that something bad is happening to him, in particular, when the baby is just born. But remember , because sun cream for children can be used only from 6 months of age and in this period a child is more exposed to sunlight. Remember even if skin cancer rarely affects children before puberty, the most common skin cancers are usually found after years of damage or burns from the sun.

The best is prevention. Teach your child to play in the shade, not in direct sunlight.

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The study of children (and yourself) is usually the first step in detecting skin cancer.

• Check yours and yours’ baby body.Remember to look carefully.

• Pay attention to changes in the number, size, shape and colour of pigmented areas.

• Follow the ABCDE Chart

Pay attention to your child’s lips as well by applying lip balms with an SPF of 30 or higher. That it’s a vulnerable area that can be burned easily and an area where skin cancer can indeed strike.

Education can be fun.
You can start a conversation with your child. Try by playing with it to find five answers  why Sam is exposed to skin cancer and George doesn't?

1.________________________________________________________________________________________
2.________________________________________________________________________________________
3.________________________________________________________________________________________
4.________________________________________________________________________________________
5.________________________________________________________________________________________
MarlenaWeber  and Claire Rutter BBC