The warmer months of late spring, summer, and early fall are the time
of year when people around the country spend a great deal of time outdoors,
enjoying the beach, sunbathing, playing sports, or working in the garden.
The additional activity is healthy for our overall well-being, but the
exposure to the sun and air pollution can be very detrimental to our
skin.
Since sun exposure is accountable for 80 to 90 percent of the extrinsic
factors that contribute to visible skin aging and skin diseases, skin
care professionals need to be aware of and observant for changes in their
clients’ skin, especially during the warmer months. Although unable to
officially “diagnose” a skin condition, the skin care professional or
licensed aesthetician is often the first line of defense with the opportunity
to notice warning signs in a client’s skin, and to provide a referral
to a trusted dermatologist for further evaluation and diagnosis. The
purpose of this article is to provide the skin care professional with
facts about visible aging and skin cancer, post-summer skin check tips,
daily prevention tips, and how geographic differences influence the skin
barrier.

Visible Aging and Skin Cancer Facts
In adults, age 35 or older, the majority of sun exposure that contributes
to visible aging and other serious skin conditions has already occurred
by age 18. Any cell damage occurring from sun exposure takes five to
25 years to show signs of skin aging (extrinsic aging). These visible
changes include fine lines, wrinkles, irregular brown or lighter spots,
fragile and lax skin texture, roughness, broken capillaries, and precancerous
and cancerous growths.
At any age, it’s never too late to protect oneself from the damaging
effects of the sun; also, not every person who is exposed to the sun
will develop skin cancer. However, this year about one and a quarter
million Americans will develop one of the four most common types of skin
cancer.
Basal cell carcinoma spreads internally and kills about 1,000 people
a year by direct extension into the brain from sites around the nose,
mouth, and ears. Squamous cell carcinoma is a cancer that spreads depending
on how quickly the cancerous cells mature. Surgery is the only treatment
option for both squamous cell and basal cell cancers. These types of
cancers are more aggressive and kill about 2,500 Americans per year.
Malignant melanoma kills nearly 10,000 people a year. Chemotherapy or
radiation treatments are ineffective in treating melanoma. When located
on palms, soles, genitals, and mucous membranes melanoma is more aggressive.
Tragically, recurrences have been reported over 15 years after excision
of the initial visible lesion. Its incidence is doubling every eight
years.
The premalignant tumor, actinic keratoses, now afflicts 50 percent of
50+ year-old Americans. Further, Cutaneous T cell lymphoma is increasing
in incidence to afflict about 12,000 Americans per year. Unlike the basal
cell or squamous cell cancers, malignant melanoma is not treated by surgery.
Over 90 percent of these cancers will appear on sun-exposed skin, usually
on the face, neck, ears, forearms, and hands. The average age of onset
of all premalignant and malignant tumors is decreasing. What’s more,
every hour an American dies from skin cancer.

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Dr. Carl R. Thornfeldt is President, CEO, and Chief Scientific Officer
of Episciences, Inc. He is a practicing dermatologist with 24 years of
skin research experience, 21 U.S. patents granted, and over 19 scientific
publications in the area of treatment of skin diseases and conditions,
including chapters in five dermatological textbooks. Along with these
accomplishments, he has also spent nearly two decades focusing on researching
the skin barrier and cutaneous inflammatory conditions. Dr. Thornfeldt
received his M.D. from the Oregon Health Sciences University, and completed
his dermatology residency at University Hospital, San Diego, Calif.