Properly caring for your skin can help you ensure that your complexion remains youthful and free from unwanted lines and wrinkles. Aside from aesthetic value, proper skin care habits, such as wearing sunscreen daily, also helps prevent skin cancer. Learn more about skin cancer prevention and spotting its presence early with your dermatologist, Dr. Jan DeBlieck, at DeBlieck Dermatology in Boise, ID.

What can I do to prevent skin cancer?
Keeping the sun’s harmful UV rays off your skin is the key to preventing skin cancer. Since this is not always an easy task, there are some measures your dermatologist may recommend you take to ensure that you protect your skin — even while soaking up the sun:

• Always apply sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher to exposed skin
• Reapply your sunscreen every two hours and/or after swimming
• Wear tightly-knit clothing over exposed areas of the skin
• Seek shade during the hottest parts of the day
• Wear a wide-brimmed hat
• Perform regular skin examinations

Spotting Skin Cancer Early
Keep the American Cancer Society’s ABCDE's of spotting skin cancer in mind when performing skin examinations:

• Asymmetrical
• Border
• Color
• Diameter
• Evolution

A normal mole should be symmetrical in shape with smooth borders and one solid color. Moles should be no bigger than about 6 millimeters, or about the size of a pencil eraser. Additionally, moles should not evolve quickly. If a mole were to change shape or color, it should do so over a long period of time.

Skin Cancer Prevention in Boise, ID
Taking measures to prevent skin cancer can greatly reduce your risk of developing this disease. The American Cancer Association recommends wearing an SPF of at least 30 — which protects against about 97% of the sun’s rays — on exposed areas of the skin. Using a higher sun protection factor, such as SPF 100, filters out about 99% of the sun’s rays.

For more information on skin cancer, preventing it from occurring, and its early detection, please contact Dr. Jan DeBlieck at DeBlieck Dermatology in Boise, ID. Call (208) 939-5030 to schedule your appointment with your dermatologist today!