Skin Cancer Awareness Month: Protect, Check, Correct

In May we join the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) in observing Skin Cancer Awareness Month. This time of year, when the days are longer, school gets out for the summer, and Memorial Day picnics and beach parties kick off the season of sizzle, is the perfect time to promote year-round sun protection. It’s also the time to repeat a key message about the most common form of cancer in the world: Early detection is key to fighting a disease that is all-too-capable of disfiguring and killing when left untreated.

This year the AAD is incorporating the hashtag #LookingGoodin2016 into its promotional materials for Skin Cancer Awareness Month. The slogan has a double meaning. Not only will protecting yourself from cancer-causing radiation keep you looking good longer (UV radiation, in addition to triggering cancerous changes in skin cells, also ages us prematurely), but giving yourself a “good look” all over is one of the most important ways to monitor your skin for early signs of cancer.

Here’s how the AAD uses humor, this year, to get across this life-saving message to men, who are at highest risk to develop melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer:

You can find out much more about keeping your skin “looking good” at the AAD’s Spot Skin Cancer website.

At Comprehensive Dermatology Center of Pasadena, we want to support your efforts to stay looking good all year. We invite you to contact us now to schedule your annual full-body skin check with one of our Licensed Physician Assistants. See us for a full line of dermatologist-formulated sun care products and for chic, packable sun hats that offer UPF 50+ protection from aging and cancer-causing rays. Remember that we offer the finest in skin cancer detection and treatment, including Mohs surgery.

And please, please, join in our efforts to ban the tan, for your skin’s sake. With the American Cancer Society, you can spread awareness by observing Don’t Fry Day, May 27—the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Let your healthy, beautiful skin provide all the natural sizzle you need this summer!