Question:
What Causes Skin Cancer?
Answer:
Very simply, sunburn and UV light can damage your skin, and this damage
can lead to skin cancer. There are of course other determining factors,
including your heredity and the environment you live in. However, both
the total amount of sun received over the years, and overexposure
resulting in sunburn can cause skin cancer. Most people receive 80% of
their lifetime exposure to the sun by 18 years of age. The message to
parents from this is to protect your children.
Tanning is your skin's response to UV light. It is a protective
reaction to prevent further injury to your skin from the sun. However,
it does not prevent skin cancer.
Remember, skin cancer is very slow to develop. The sunburn you receive
this week may take 20 years or more to become skin cancer.
