Acerts

May is the American Cancer Society’s National  prevention and awareness month. The organization’s website says that the skin is the largest organ of the body.

It covers our internal organs and protects them from injury, serves as a barrier between germs and our internal organs, prevents the loss of too much water and other fluids, regulates the body’s temperature and also helps the body get rid of excess water and salts.

It communicates with the brain and allows for temperature, touch and pain sensations. It is also vulnerable to wear and tear and repeated sun abuse, which can result in skin cancers.

Early detection is the key to surviving skin cancers. It is recommended that you give yourself monthly self-exams to check for any changes in your skin, and get a clinical visual exam every three years from ages 20 to 40 and annually from age 40 onward.

Avoiding sun exposure and using sunblock is an important part of skin cancer prevention. Most of the more than 1 million cases of skin cancers diagnosed yearly in the U.Ss are considered sun-related.