Skin Cancer

Carroll County General Hospital will sponsor a free skin cancer screening tomorrow and Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.If you are concerned about a blemish or mole, now is the time to have it checked by an expert.You may register by calling 857-6935.Screenings will be conducted by Dr. Marilyn Miller, Dr. James Vogel and Dr. Ronald Schuster, plastic surgeons, and Dr. Lawrence Feldman and Dr. Ronald Goldner, dermatologists.One in seven Americans will develop skin cancer in a lifetime, more than 500,000 people this year alone, Dr. Miller says.

WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration proposed yesterday that all sunscreens and tanning products be required to carry warnings about the dangers of sun exposure and that cosmetic products promoting tanning but offering no screen against the harmful rays of the sun display a warning that they do not protect against sunburn."

Reports from southern Chile that the ozone hole has left sheep blinded by cataracts and some people blistered by sunburn are probably tall tales, scientists say, but they do expect skin cancer and cataract cases to begin rising sharply worldwide by the end of the century.In addition, the planet may see infectious diseases spread more quickly, the loss of animal and plant species and a reduction in crop yields, they say.Why? Because more ultraviolet radiation is now reaching the Earth as the protective ozone shield thins over most of the world.

Q: I've been reading a lot about sunburn and its relationship to skin cancer. What's the best kind of sunscreen to put on my children?You are right to note that sunburn during childhood or adolescence increases an individual's risk for developing skin cancer in adult life.A: You may not be aware that excessive sun exposure also leads to premature wrinkling of the skin.These are two compelling reasons for ensuring that children are adequately protected from the sun.Sunlight contains two types of radiation, ultraviolet A and B.Both harm the skin in different ways.

The American Academy of Dermatology, on its Web site, recently reaffirmed its message, saying that "scientific evidence supports the beneficial effects of proper sunscreen usage." The American Cancer Society recommends using "a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher." So does the government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But, in this era of evidence-based medicine, I have three nagging questions: How much should I really worry about skin cancer? How tightly linked are sun exposure and skin cancer?

Thomas O. Enders, 64, a diplomat who was involved in the secret bombing of Cambodia during the Nixon administration and who guided the early Reagan administration policy in Central America, died Sunday in New York of skin cancer.Olga Rudge, 101, a violinist and companion of poet Ezra Pound, died Friday at her home in northern Italy. She was born in Ohio in 1895 and met Pound in 1916 when she was a young violinist and he an acclaimed poet.Pub Date: 3/20/96

As a young woman, Shonda Brewer Schilling loved the sun. Sometimes she would sneak onto the flat black roof of her parents' rowhouse in Dundalk, slather herself in baby oil and catch a few rays. Or she'd spend hours on the beach at Ocean City. Later, studying broadcast journalism at Towson University, she discovered that a tanning booth could help maintain her beautifully bronzed look year-round. She met baseball pitcher Curt Schilling, whose Boston Red Sox are in town this weekend, while he was playing for the Orioles and she was working in production for the cable network Home Team Sports.

Jennifer Martin was 28 years old and three months pregnant when a doctor diagnosed her malignant melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer. Fifty years ago, the disease rarely struck people in their 20s. Now, it is one of the most common types of cancer in young women. In the past 20 years, the incidence of melanoma more than tripled in Caucasians. Nationwide, 51,400 new cases of melanoma are expected this year - a 9 percent increase over last year. Doctors have known for years that overexposure to the sun is a leading cause of melanoma and other skin cancers and have tried to spread the message that people should wear hats, apply sunscreen and stay out of the sun. Yet the public has been slow to react.

The sun can wrinkle your skin, make you look older and give you skin cancer. You can't prevent sun damage just by slathering yourself with sunscreen.More than 600,000 new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year, largely because people do not know how to protect themselves from the rays.When you work out in the sun, you are exposed to two types of sun rays: UVA rays, which primarily cause aging and wrinkling, and UVB rays, which go much deeper into the skin to cause cancer.

Q: When my husband recently had a skin cancer removed from the face, he was told that he was cured and need not worry that the cancer had spread to any other place. I though all cancers could spread, and I am concerned that my husband's doctor just reassured him so that he wouldn't worry. Is there anything further he should be doing?A: The three common types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma, melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Melanomas and squamous cell carcinomas DO spread (metastasize)