June News: The Skinny on Skin Cancer

TLC For Aging Skin

As we age, our skin needs extra care. Skin gets thin and becomes dry over the years. It injures easier and heals slowly making it more susceptible to infection and disease.

1. Avoid hot baths and frequent showers. Use mild soaps, and gently apply thick moisturizers or creams while skin is still moist.
2. With incontinence, it’s important to use absorbent products and skin barriers, and change frequently.
3. Always use sunblock if skin is exposed to sun and wind.
4. Examine your skin regularly for “changing moles” and new growths and consult a dermatologist if you see unusual changes.

Changing moles should be examined by a dermatologist.

ABCDE’s OF SKIN CANCER

A=Asymmetry (one half of the growth looks different from the other half)

B=Borders are irregular, scalloped or poorly defined.

C=Color is varied from one spot to another; shades of tan and brown, black, red, white or blue.

D=Diameter greater than the size of a pencil eraser

E=Evolving: this means the growth changes in size, shape, symptoms (itching, tenderness), surface (especially bleeding), or shades of color.

Actinic Keratoses

Actinic keratoses are scaly, rough-textured skin growths and are considered precancerous.

These form on fair skin that receives lots of sun. Left untreated, these may turn into squamous cell carcinoma. See your dermatologist for a diagnosis. Prescription creams are often used for treatment.

Prevent > Detect >Live

Care for sunburned skin to prevent long-term damage

1. Moisturize with lotion containing Vitamin E
2. Drink extra liquids
3. Take ibuprophen for swelling and redness

Give your skin extra TLC as you age.

100^th Anniversary

Father’s Day is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year on June 19, and it all began when a young woman wanted to honor her dad.

In May of 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, sat in church listening to a Mother’s Day sermon. She decided she wanted to designate a day for her dad, William Jackson Smart. Dodd’s mother had died in childbirth, and Dodd’s father, a Civil War veteran, had taken the responsibility of singlehandedly raising the newborn and his other five children.

Flag Day is Thursday, June 14

Time to fly your colors. Put out your flag this month!