If you're like me, I search out the cheapest waterproof mid range SPF sun screen protection out there. I often think anything over 30 is just defeating the purpose of being out in the sun. Hello CVS, Walgreens, etc. I'll buy a couple of tubes or sprays, whatever I'm feeling like at the time, one to use and one to be a back up cuz I hate when I run out. I hate buying it since it's just one of those things I use maybe 10 times a year, which is stupid since I live in Florida.
A recent Menshealth.com story got me thinking a little more about my haphazard selection of skin protection. Here's a snippet of the story.
A month ago I was in for my regular checkup. I stripped down to my undies and Dr. Voget looked at me through his magnifying glass, as he’d done so many times before, scanning my skin with the trained eyes of a hunter.
He stared straight into my third eye, squinting at the spot on my noggin. “What’s that?”
Eh, small scar. Nothing.
“How did you get it?”
Well, I scratched my forehead. It was itching pretty badly, and I guess I must have drawn blood. That’s what’s left.
“How long did it take to heal?”
A few weeks. (Okay, full disclosure: It was a really irritating little scab that would form and fall off and form again. In the end, it left that little dent.)
“I don’t like the look of this. I’m going to take a biopsy.”
So he did, and three days later, the news came back from the lab: basal cell carcinoma. I’d been hit with the most common type of cancer in the world. – menshealth.com
Have you had a scar that has taken a while to heal? No, this does not mean you have skin cancer, but it means you should go get it checked out for it may be one of many health concerns, one of them being skin cancer. But is skin cancer a common thing?
The American Cancer Society estimates that 46,870 new melanoma cases will be diagnosed in men this year; approximately 6,750 will die from it.
And that is how many are diagnosed. Who's to say the number is not more since you know how we love to go to the doctors to get things checked out. That's one thing we do wrong, but what else do we get wrong? Here's a helpful video telling us the "4 Things Most Guys Get Wrong About Skin Cancer."
So, those are the things we are doing wrong. What can we do right? How do we get on the right path? Our friend Tommy DiDario gives us a little lesson on what we should do to take care of our skin. Here with celebrity dermatologist Dr. Whitney Bowe , he discusses how to stay safe in the sun. If you're like me and shop for skin care like I do, we both need to listen to this and not be afraid of a little education.
Dermatology 101 : Preventing Skin Cancer
Yes, it's late August. Maybe you should start treating your skin better next summer? NO! Most of us will be living it up out in the sun this long Labor Day weekend or walking the dog tonight or sitting out for drinks on the patio later. It's never too EARLY to start protecting your skin.
Last year March I did a blog called Skin Cancer: Are we cooking ourselves faster than our straight friends? The blog was mainly about how we as gay men are using fake tanning practices to look better and that is leading to skin cancer. Many of us avoid the beds and think we are doing a good thing, but we as well need to be cautious about the original cooker, the Sun.
Have you been doing something wrong when it comes to skin protection?
What is the biggest change you will make to help protect your largest organ, your skin?
h/t:
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