Sunscreen And Melanoma Essay

Skin cancers are a major health issue in the United States, and so far the risk is only increasing. The article “Sunscreen and Melanoma: Is Our Counseling Message Correct?” by Margaret B Planta, submitted in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine November- December 2011 vol. 24 explores issues with counseling on sunscreen usage by practitioners and how the approach may be insufficient and possibly even increase the risk of patients developing malignant skin cancers. In this article, it is discussed whether sunscreen use increases the risk of developing malignant skin cancer. It is hypothesized that the increase in skin cancer rates may be related to the lack of UVA ray reduction in sunscreens and SPF ratings on product labels that only pertain to UVB rays. As the article progresses, the discussion evolves into a more comprehensive view of risk factors for developing malignant skin cancers including profession, race, and location. The article goes on to detail how a more likely culprit is actually the damage to cells by sunburn, due to improper use of sunscree; as …show more content…
While I absolutely agree with the author that practitioners should provide more in-depth and accurate counseling on the prevention of skin cancers, I think the responsibility also lies greatly with the patient making responsible sun exposure decisions and avoiding sunburn as a major factor in reducing those risks. With skin cancer being such an enormous health issue that affects so many people of all ages, races, and genders, we need to all make sure we are doing our very best to seek professional advice and make the best possible decisions. When it comes to skin cancer, I firmly believe that an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of