Skin Cancer: Causes, Prevention, Symptoms and Treatment
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-06-03/skin-cancer-causes-prevention-symptoms-and-treatment
Memorial Day Weekend was the start of the summer season and, with it, the risks of over exposure to dangerous UV rays. What you need to know to protect yourself from skin cancer and how to detect its early signs.
Guests
Dr. Martin Weinstock
professor of dermatology and community health at Brown University, the chief of dermatology at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Providence, R.I., and chairman of the skin cancer advisory group for the American Cancer Society.
Dr. Maral Kibarian Skelsey
Director of the MOHS Surgery unit and Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Georgetown University.
Dr. Elizabeth Tanzi
Co-Director of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery and Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
Comments
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Assuming that over the years people now see much less sun because of the invention of air conditioning and the modern indoor lifestyle. Adding to that there are probably many and more advanced sun screen products today than there were in the past as well. One could make the assumption that the incidence of skin cancer should be declining? But, according to CDC we've seen a significant increase of 3% per year since 1986. So if we have better defenses against the sun and are inside more often yet cancer incidences are rising significantly, are we focusing on the wrong area? Sometimes I feel that these "MDs" can't see the forest through the trees. The true change happening is in our body's natural ability to defend itself against any cancer (which it does every day). This trend can be directly tied to the change in our environment and nutrition. We are now exposed to an exponentially greater amount of chemicals through industry and in our own food than 50 years ago. This topic is to big to expand on here and there is no single smoking gun, but until we address our food supply, nutrition and a chemical free terrain, it will only get worse. It's a shame that the Cancer Industry has us looking in all of the wrong places for answers.
One of the issues I wish experts would address in discussions such as this is the practical economic impact of their recommendations. My understanding from this and other discussions is that the recommended application rate is 1 oz (one shot glass' worth) of lotion per full body. My sunscreen, an average-sized national brand, contains only 3 oz per tube, so that's about $10 for 3 adult body 1 oz applications. If you have a family of four and are outdoors even minimally, at the recommended rate you could be using a tube or more daily.
Can an average family of four realistically afford to spend over $56 per week on sunscreen (which is the minimum cost if one follows the dermatologists' recommendations).
Why is sunscreen so expensive? Are the ingredients really so costly? People on tight budgets shouldn't feel have to guilty choosing food or other necessities over sunscreen, but that's ultimately the choice many people must make.
Regarding what to say to grandparents:
Is it not true that in recent decades the sun is more dangerous than in years past?
Humans have evolved with the sun, and without sunscreen. We even lost the fur on our bodies, and yet throughout the millennia the species has not been dying off due to sun exposure. And up until recently people used to spend much more time outdoors than modern Americans do, and yet skin cancer was not common.
What changed? Diet and lifestyle (we became sedentary and eat processed foods that are contaminated with chemicals) -- and that has to be affecting our immune systems.
Photo-aging is real, but not lethal. Cancers are a function of the body's immune system not being able to destroy early cancerous cells (which form spontaneously all the time).
So why are our immune systems unable to prevent cancer from developing? If your immune system is compromised, you are in danger of getting cancer of any kind (including melanoma).
If you have a strong immune system, not using sunscreen is not going to kill you (unless you are in the sun ALL THE TIME).
My cousin got melanoma up high on the inner side of her thigh -- the area that was almost never exposed to the sun, and never subject to a sunburn. A friend got it UNDER her fingernail (even though the nail was providing a protective barrier; after all, you don't get suntan under your nails).
There have been instances of people getting skin cancer on their soles, or on their scalp (in places covered by hair). This proves that skin cancer can develop WITHOUT sun exposure.
I feel sorry for the little kids who are being made paranoid by their parents who instill in them a fear of the sun, instead of teaching them how not to overdo sun exposure.
It's funny that the medical establishment pretends that they know everything about this issue -- but they don't.
No one should overdo exposure to sun, but to be telling people that sun is the enemy of the mankind is insane.
I wish all public service announcements would be tailored to sunrise/sunset and true noon instead of using rote times of day. For most of Indiana, we are two hours ahead of the sun for almost 8 months of the year. I recently forgot and burnt pretty badly. This also applies to our ozone day recommendations.
The guest "experts" for this show were absolutely ridiculous. Their advice and their attitudes go against basic common sense. Telling people that no sun exposure is good, and calling the sun a carcinogen, is an extremely questionable and irresponsible thing to do. This particular show is a good example of the worst of "liberal" programming (and I'm about as radical as they come) - it's completely ludicrous.
I maintain the CancerVictory Yahoo Group http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CancerVictory/. In the Files area (joining gives instant access), I regularly update "Critical facts about cancer pointing to effective treatment.doc". In this document I list highly effective self-treatments for skin cancer, and all kinds of cancer. Melanoma is dangerous, of course. But it is also highly self-treatable. If treated effectively before metastasis, melanoma does not even have to be a big deal.
Having collected "cancer cures" and highly successful self-treatment approaches for 38 years, I was interested to hear what the "experts" on this show have to say.
I noticed with pleasure that the doctors came down very hard on pointless skin damage at tanning salons. However, I was sorry to hear they emphasize sunscreen and generally "dis" exposure to the sun as harmful. Nothing could be further from the truth! The sun is not just a source of ultraviolet radiation, it is the source of life for this planet.
In addition to sun exposure creating vitamin D3 on the skin, the sun's radiance on the forehead favorably affects glands in the head. This influence helps balance minerals, with emphasis on calcium absorption. Adequate calcium with adequate vitamin D3 is essential for keeping the blood pH in the 7.35 to 7.45 range. If the blood pH falls (more acid) to just 7.3 or lower, the body in an attempt to keep the blood pH in the required 7.35 to 7.45 range, must take emergency measures that can wreak havoc on many aspects of physiology.
The body absolutely requires the blood to be in this range to prevent cancer and maintain health generally. Sun exposure is wonderful for giving the body what it needs to prevent cancer. By using sunscreen, people set themselves up for all kinds of health problems. The doctors are WAY OFF BASE on this point. Their emphasis on sunscreen is disinformation. See: www.naturalnews.com/SpecialReports/Sunlight.pdf (Adobe Acrobat format)
I was very disapointed that you did not include anyone on the panel who promotes viatmin D absorption from the sun. Our skin evolved to protect us from the sun AND aid in vitamin D absorption. This idea that a supplement is the appropriate way to get enough vitamin D rather than the sun and more efficient is ridiculous in light of the fact that for thousands, if not millions of years we got our vitamin D through sun abosorption. Yes protection from over exposure is important, but there is also a reason it feels so good to be outside and in the sun. It is about finding a balance.