Preventing Skin Cancer

The First Lady's diagnosis is fairly common. More than a million Americans find out they have some form of skin cancer every year..<br/><br/>But, catching it early is the key. News on Six Reporter

Tuesday, December 19th 2006, 5:19 pm

By: News On 6

The First Lady's diagnosis is fairly common. More than a million Americans find out they have some form of skin cancer every year..

But, catching it early is the key. News on Six Reporter Ashli Sims tells us if you don't spot it early, even this curable cancer can be deadly.

As a manager at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Carla Tovar is probably more aware than most people of various cancers and treatments. But even someone like her can almost miss the signs of skin cancer.

Carla Tovar, Skin Cancer Survivor: "During the summer months with some skin exposed that normally wouldn't be, I was told that they saw a spot on my back. It looked like a bug bite. It wasn't raised; it didn't itch; it didn't bother me. So I let it go."

It wasn't until the next summer that Tovar had the spot checked out. She found out it was a melanoma.

Carla Tovar, Skin Cancer Survivor: "Scary. I thought bug bite and it turned out melanoma. I was very surprised."

Skin Cancer is more common than lung, breast, or any other type of cancer. And it can be serious, even deadly.

Dr Simeon Jaggernauth, Medical Oconologist: "All of the skin cancers are actually pretty aggressive when left unchecked. So the main thing you want to do with any of the skin cancers is make sure you find them early. At which point, they're curable, once they've been removed."

When most people think about skin cancer, that's most likely to have sun damage, But even if you have dark skin like mine, you can still be at risk for skin cancer.

Dr Simeon Jaggernauth: â€œAnyone with pigmented skin is still at risk for developing melanoma. However, when they develop it it's usually a much more aggressive form of melanoma then you're typical Caucasian."

Carla Tovar had her spot removed and has been cancer-free for five years.

Carla Tovar: "Know the skin your in. It's very important I'd never looked that closely before but now I do."

Here are the warning signs: moles that change size or color spots with jagged borders, sores that don't heal, new bumps with anything out of the ordinary, like scaliness, bleeding or tenderness.

Doctors say prevention is always better than a cure. So protect yourself when you're out in the sun, coverup and wear sunscreen with an SPF of atleast 15.