That's Fit

The other day, I was outside chatting with my neighbor. She pulled up the cuff of her pants to show me a bandage where she had just had a squamous cell carcinoma removed. That's right ... cancer. Even though it was caught very early and the doctor was able to remove all traces of it, it's still shocking to hear that someone you care about had any form of cancer.

My neighbor went on to tell me that she thought it was a spider bite that just wasn't healing. She was self-treating it and didn't think much of it. Her adult daughter expressed concern and brought her mom to the doctor. Thank goodness she did.

It's important for all of us to recognize the signs of skin cancer. May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month -- a good time to learn about the different types of skin cancer. The most common types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma. If you have moles, check the shape and size of them regularly.

When it comes to cancer, the general rule is this: If you're under 40, you're risk of developing it is minimal. But there's a certain type of cancer that you're more likely to develop if you're under 35--Malignant melanoma. Yep, skin cancer.

According to this article from the Daily Mail, people under 35 who use tanning beds are 75% more likely to develop skin cancer than everyone else. 75%! Those are some frightening odds. Don't get me wrong -- tanning any time in life is dangerous, but it appears that young skin is more vulnerable to the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays. And you know what else? Tanning kills. So if you're still heading to the tanning salon, I just have one question for you: Are you nuts?