Keep Away the Burn

June 1, 2010  
Filed under Featured

By Emma Berkel

   At last! Summer’s here, and LHS students are jumping out of their desks and up for joy. Uninterrupted sleep, long days out with friends, and warm weather, who could ask for anything more? It’s a season to be enjoyed, and for that reason it’s easy to forget the most basic necessities of summer safety. Namely, applying sunscreen and covering up to protect against Texas’s summer sun.

   Nobody likes a sun burn, and what’s more, nobody likes cancer. With more cases than lung, breast, and colon cancer combined, skin cancer is currently the most common type of cancer in the United States. Every single year, millions of individual cases are reported. Although there are three different types of skin cancer, melanoma is the most dangerous, and the number of those diagnosed with it is increasing faster than any other type of cancer.

   To many, it seems skin cancer is the product of a lifetime spent out in the sun, but in reality, it’s the second most common form of cancer for those between the ages of fifteen and twenty-nine. That’s because any change in your skin, be it a severe sun burn or even a light tan, is the result of UV damage, and ultraviolet radiation is a carcinogen. Of course, summer is the season renowned for its unrelenting UV rays.

   Fortunately, it’s not difficult to protect oneself from the dangers. Simply wearing a shirt reduces the risk, as does wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. But above all that, it’s best to apply sunscreen before even stepping outside. Most dermatologists would recommend the use of sunscreen with a broad spectrum to ensure protection against both UVA and UVB rays.

   While nobody likes getting burned by the sun, summer’s still a favorite time of the year and simply remembering to stay protected can keep this year’s `summer full of fun.