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Presently skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. More skin cancers are diagnosed in the U.S. each year than all other cancers combined. The number of skin cancer cases has been going up over the past few decades. In the U.S., more than 9,500 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every day.

In Movin’ Together, we encourage all of us to use tools that protect us from cancer, and the tool for discussion on this broadcast is Sunscreen.

In our food and health care products, we know that the fewer ingredients, the better. As we read the labels on our sunscreens to choose what we will use this summer, this rule also applies. Love the sun and love your Sunscreen!

Sport Mineral sunscreens are made with natural minerals Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide and have no active chemical ingredients. Natural zinc oxide offers natural broad-spectrum sun protection from UVB rays and the UVA rays that cause premature aging and skin cancer. Zinc doesn’t break down in the sun, doesn’t cause skin allergies, and doesn’t release free radicals.

To save some time in the morning, I used a moisturizer that had SPF included. When researching for this broadcast, I found the following information about the two differences between the two products. Sunscreen is meant to sit on the skin to defend our faces from the sun. It doesn’t penetrate the skin because it’s supposed to block out all those harmful U.V. rays. When it comes to moisturizers, on the other hand, the method of action is the opposite. Their very purpose is to penetrate the skin, adding moisture that wasn’t already there. The FDA regulates Sunscreen as a drug, and those regulations require a specific amount of SPF for it to be effective, leaving little room for other active ingredients in a formula. So now I have chosen to apply moisturizer first, then Sunscreen later when needed.

For Sunscreen to be effective, it needs to be applied 15 to 30 minutes before venturing outside to allow the Sunscreen to bind to our skin. Then reapply every two hours of exposure and immediately after swimming or excessive sweating.

At the end of this writing, I have listed many companies making sunscreens healthy and protective for our skin with few yet powerful ingredients! I have also included links to discussions on chemical sunscreen versus mineral.

It shouldn’t surprise us that our faces are the most commonplace for skin cancers to develop. Our faces are exposed to sunlight almost every day of our lives. And the most prominent part of our faces— our noses—is the most common area of our faces to see skin cancer. The good news is that these cancers tend to be basal cell and squamous cell cancers, are typically identified early and are usually easy to treat.

On this broadcast, Johanna Vogt spoke with Certified Nurse Practioner Angie Dixon of Laurel Health Centers about caring for our skin while in the sun. Angie encouraged us to bring any skin concerns to our health care provider, precisely how our good friend Linda Stager found out about skin cancer on her face.

Linda Stager went to her primary care doctor for her appointment about something unrelated to her skin. At the end of her visit, she pointed to the spot on her nose that concerned her. The doctor said yes, you need to have that checked by a skincare specialist. Linda went to a MOHS surgeon who told her that she had basal cell carcinoma. She had surgery to remove cancer. This surgical procedure used to treat skin cancer is by removing individual layers of cancer tissue which are then examined under a microscope one at a time until all cancer tissue has been removed. Thankfully Linda, at this time, is cancer-free!

Basal Cell Carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, with more than 3.6 million cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year. It rarely spreads beyond the original tumor site, though, and the cure rate after excisional surgery is above 95 percent in most body areas.

Please visit the following links for more information about sunscreens:

https://www.cnet.com/health/personal-care/mineral-vs-chemical-sunscreens-safety/

https://www.byrdie.com/moisturizers-with-spf

https://www.badgerbalm.com/products/protect-land-sea-sunscreen-cream-tube-spf-40

https://www.aveneusa.com/solaireuv-mineral-sunscreen-spf-50?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItNaS59fl8AIVmYzICh1CKA-sEAAYASAAEgI6UvD_BwE

https://www.coolibar.com/sunscreen.html

https://www.lovelyskin.com/o/coola-er-radical-recovery-organic-after-sun-lotion?ref=gbase&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9euTwa3f8AIV5mpvBB32YQJSEAQYCyABEgK_avD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds