By Theresa Ficazzola
May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month—a good time to be reminded about the dangers of the sun. While the sun is great for solar panels to provide energy to your home, it can be deadly to your skin. The temperature of the sun is around 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the sun is so unbelievably hot, even on cloudy days, up to 80% of the sun’s harmful UV rays can penetrate your skin.
That’s why if you’re planning on being outside—on sunny or cloudy days—you should protect your skin. Unprotected skin can be damaged in as little as 15 minutes. Consider these sobering facts from the Skin Cancer Foundation:
- 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70
- In the U.S., more than 9,500 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every day
- More than 2 people die of skin cancer in the U.S. every hour
- Having 5 or more sunburns doubles your risk for melanoma
- More than 5.4 million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer were treated in over 3.3 million people in the U.S. in 2012, the most recent year new statistics were available
- More people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the U.S. than all other cancers combined
Some Good News
The good news is that when detected early, the 5-year survival rate for melanoma is 99%. So how can you beat this deadly disease?
Wear sunscreen, avoid the sun when it’s at its peak (typically between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm), wear sun protective clothing, wear a hat and sunglasses, stay hydrated, check your entire body every month for questionable skin moles or lesions, and get professionally checked out by a certified dermatologist once a year.
Sunscreen Tips
When choosing sunscreen:
- Use broad-spectrum protection which protects both UVA and UVB rays
- Wear an SPF of 30 or higher
- Ensure your sunscreen has not expired (it typically lasts for about 2 years)
- Sunscreen that has been exposed to extreme heat for long periods of time (ie, being left in your car) is generally less effective
- Cover your entire body, ensuring to get under the creases of your clothes or bathing suit which may shift as you move, thereby exposing areas that may not have sunscreen
- Depending on how long you’re out, especially if you’re sweating or going in the water, reapply your sunscreen throughout the day
Skin Cancer Warning Signs
If you see something new on your skin that wasn’t there before, or something like a mole that has gotten larger or changed shape or color, get checked by a dermatologist right away.
The Skin Cancer Foundation also wants you to be aware of the following when checking your skin:
- a growth that increases in size and appears pearly, transparent, tan, brown, black, or multicolored
- a mole, birthmark or brown spot that increases in size, thickness, changes color or texture, or is bigger than a pencil eraser
- a spot or sore that continues to itch, hurt, crust, scab or bleed
- an open sore that does not heal within three weeks
Skin cancer is no joke and is very curable if you catch it early. On a personal level, my mother, brother and best friend all had cancerous skin removed and led healthy lives afterward. The key really is early detection, so don’t wait if you see something. Get it checked out.
Tap into the Sun with Solar Panels for Your Home
Even though the sun’s rays can be harmful to your skin, the sun can be your friend—and save you money.
Solar energy is the most abundant energy resource on earth—173,000 terawatts of solar energy strikes the earth continuously. That’s more than 10,000 times the world’s total energy use. So why not use this powerful energy source to your advantage?
With summer right around the corner, you should be thinking about how you can save money by tapping into the free energy from the sun with your very own solar panel system for your home or business.
Find out how you can save money by contacting SI Solar today for a no cost, in-home assessment. The assessment is free, the sun is free…and if you qualify, so is the installation!
