Sun Screens and Skin Cancer

Sunscreen:

The white goo you slather on before you go to the beach or out on the water. Sunscreen keeps you from getting fried to a crisp. It helps prevent your skin from getting that wrinkled, leathery look. And it protects you from the ultraviolet rays that causes skin cancer. Sunburn, caused by a type of ultraviolet (UV) light known as UVB, has served as a surrogate for more serious conditions like melanoma and basal and squamous cell carcinoma, three forms of skin cancer. If you prevent sunburn, you prevent skin cancer, right?

Not so it seems, Sunscreens do protect skin from sunburn, but a scientific debate simmers about the role of lower-energy ultraviolet light in skin damage and whether current sunscreens provide adequate protection.
In recent years, it has become apparent that a different form of ultraviolet light, called UVA, may be even more important in causing some skin disorders. Although experts still believe that UVB is responsible for much of the skin damage caused by sunlight — especially sunburn — UVA may be an important factor in photo aging and skin cancers. Most sunscreens do a good job blocking UVB, but fewer sunscreens filter out most of the UVA, so they do not help to prevent the beginnings of melanoma formation. So when you do that 2 minute shopping at the local store stop and do yourself a favor and actually read the sunscreen label. This may help in the future.