Press release from Pardee UNC Health Care:
Pardee UNC Health Care will host a free community skin cancer screening on Tuesday, May 8 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Mission Pardee Health Campus (second floor), located at 2775 Hendersonville Road. The screening is open the public and Spanish interpretation services will be available free of charge. To attend, please register online at pardeehospital.org/classes-events. For more information, call 828-698-7317.
One in five Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime, but when found early, skin cancer is almost always treatable. Consider getting screened if you were previously diagnosed with skin cancer, have a strong family history of skin cancer, have a history of excessive sun exposure or indoor tanning, have fair skin, or have many or atypical moles.
Pardee UNC Health Care is a not-for-profit community hospital founded in 1953 and is managed by UNC Health Care. The hospital is licensed for 222 acute care beds. Pardee has several locations separate from the main campus, including a comprehensive physician practice network, a cancer center, two urgent care locations and five orthopedic clinics. For more information or to find a physician, visit pardeehospital.
The best method of avoiding sun damage is to use our intelligence and cover up at the first sign of redness. Avoid sunscreens. Sun exposure is vital to human health. Eighteen major cancers are reduced by regular, non-burning sun exposure, and one of those is melanoma. 75% of melanomas occur on areas of the body that seldom or never experience sun exposure.
Research shows that for every death caused by diseases that are associated with sun exposure, there are about 328 deaths caused by diseases that are associated with sun deprivation. In the U.S, sun exposure has decreased by 90% since 1935. During that time the risk of melanoma has increased by 3,000%! Isn’t it interesting that each year the use of sunscreen increases, and each year the risk of contracting melanoma increases? It is not sun exposure that causes health problems; it is sun deprivation. And, it is leading to 336,000 deaths yearly in the U.S. There has also been an 8,300% increase in vitamin D deficiency in children since 2000, which is likely due to insufficient time playing outdoors and/or sunscreen use. Full-body sun exposure can produce up to 20,000 IU of vitamin D. So you see, all of this “protection” may be fatal. In addition, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released information that 73% of sunscreens don’t work and some may be counterproductive.
For more information: Sunlight Institute website: sunlightinstitute.org