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Spot the facts: Skin cancer awareness
4 Plays10 months ago
In honor of Skin Cancer Awareness Month, April and Alicia put their knowledge to the test with a fun and informative quiz all about skin cancer. From surprising statistics to vital prevention tips, tune in as they challenge each other — and you — to spot the facts and stay sun safe. Can a multitude of melanin really replace SPF? Should you skip sun protection on a cloudy day? And that toasty tanning bed can't be that bad...right?
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Transcript
Initial Reactions and Steps for Skin Concerns
00:00:00
Speaker
So what do you do if you find a spot, you know, like what were your, what would the next steps be with your doctor and you know, how did they treat these?
00:00:07
Speaker
I was going to say, if I find a spot for me, like, I think the first step immediately for me is, um, going ahead and writing my will, final will and testament because that's my approach to life.
00:00:20
Speaker
This is on call.
00:00:22
Speaker
This would be really cool to just wear scrubs all the time.
00:00:24
Speaker
Then you don't have to think about what you're going to wear to work.
00:00:27
Speaker
That is awesome.
00:00:28
Speaker
We're here to answer your questions.
00:00:30
Speaker
We can sit down and discuss them.
00:00:32
Speaker
Wait, I gotta go.
00:00:33
Speaker
I'm on call.
00:00:33
Speaker
Wait, you're on call?
00:00:34
Speaker
I thought I was on call.
00:00:38
Speaker
Hey, everybody.
Podcast Introduction: 'On Call with April and Alicia'
00:00:39
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of On Call with April and Alicia.
00:00:42
Speaker
I am Alicia.
00:00:43
Speaker
And I'm April.
00:00:45
Speaker
And we are back.
00:00:47
Speaker
Happy sunshine, April.
00:00:48
Speaker
Thank God.
00:00:51
Speaker
I know.
Bear Encounters and Gatlinburg Adventures
00:00:52
Speaker
I feel like we've emerged out of our little, like,
00:00:56
Speaker
bear caves like I know like we're officially out of hibernation during the day you know it's crazy hold on you just said hibernation completely jogged my memory we went to um Gallenburg this weekend um for volleyball well they told us it was Knoxville
00:01:18
Speaker
But we ended up in Gatlinburg.
00:01:20
Speaker
So we're in downtown Gatlinburg for anybody who's not been there.
00:01:24
Speaker
I went from Vegas to Gatlinburg.
00:01:27
Speaker
So it kind of feels like Vegas with SHM and then Gatlinburg for volleyball.
00:01:31
Speaker
So it kind of felt like Vegas and then mini Vegas.
00:01:33
Speaker
But Julianna and I are driving in very, very late because I had just come in from Vegas, had a couple hours on the ground, grab her, and then we take off by car.
00:01:46
Speaker
But we get in at dark and we hit this point where it's like the Smokies, it becomes the Smokies.
00:01:52
Speaker
And all of a sudden I had all of this fear unlocked around bear because I know they see bear all the time in Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains are full of it.
00:02:01
Speaker
And all I could keep thinking was it's spring, bear coming out of hibernation, there's bear cub.
00:02:07
Speaker
What if I just get out of my car?
00:02:10
Speaker
And there's a cub and I happen to come in between a cub and its mom.
00:02:13
Speaker
I'm going to die from a bear attack.
00:02:14
Speaker
Like I had all these fears unlocked in Gatlinburg.
00:02:17
Speaker
I'll tell you, I did not have a great trip at all.
00:02:19
Speaker
Well, that's true.
00:02:20
Speaker
That's a true fear though.
00:02:21
Speaker
So we had a sound conference there probably a few years ago now, right in downtown Gatlinburg.
00:02:26
Speaker
We stayed in a hotel down there and we were having our session and we were at lunch and there was a bear right outside the door and
00:02:36
Speaker
Like going through the dumpster, like right there.
00:02:39
Speaker
And I was like, oh, goodness.
00:02:40
Speaker
And people were like going outside of the room and seeing bears just walking around.
00:02:44
Speaker
And that's what I've heard about.
00:02:47
Speaker
So I've been there one time.
00:02:48
Speaker
I was pregnant with Maddox when I went.
00:02:50
Speaker
And it was July and it was miserable.
00:02:52
Speaker
So my memories are not great.
00:02:53
Speaker
Also, I can't understand for the life of me why Ripley's, believe it or not.
00:02:59
Speaker
needs to be in the middle of the Atlinburg.
00:03:01
Speaker
Like just kind of like, there's like this, like this, um, there was this museum called, I want to do like proper grammar because my grandmother taught me so much better, but it's called body human.
00:03:14
Speaker
I want to keep saying human bodies, but it's body human.
00:03:17
Speaker
And then it was like a bunch of cadavers or something.
00:03:20
Speaker
Wow.
00:03:21
Speaker
I don't know.
00:03:21
Speaker
It was weird, but the bear thing was super real.
00:03:25
Speaker
And, um, everybody I talked to in the area was like, oh yeah, this is like the time of the year that you see them.
00:03:29
Speaker
And I was like, I have zero interest in seeing a bear.
00:03:34
Speaker
Um, my daughter, um,
00:03:36
Speaker
invited a couple of her friends from her team on Saturday night to go to dinner without asking me first.
00:03:42
Speaker
So I became the sponsor parent.
00:03:44
Speaker
Correct.
00:03:45
Speaker
I just became sponsor parent for a bunch of volleyball girls.
00:03:48
Speaker
And we went to dinner.
00:03:50
Speaker
And as we were leaving, they were heading back up to their hotel and they go, oh, I'm dropping them off at a separate one.
00:03:55
Speaker
Of course, I stayed somewhere different because it was too close.
00:03:59
Speaker
It was too, it was too close to the forest.
00:04:01
Speaker
So I stayed somewhere where I was like, they're going to get them first.
00:04:04
Speaker
The bear are going to get them before they get me.
00:04:06
Speaker
But no joke.
00:04:08
Speaker
They were like, we're going to go like the rest of the teams all meeting at the pool.
00:04:11
Speaker
We're all going to go swimming.
00:04:13
Speaker
Pool's closed because there's a bear.
00:04:15
Speaker
And I was like, see, you should have stayed at the Marriott with me.
00:04:18
Speaker
Sorry, plug.
00:04:19
Speaker
Marriott's not a paid sponsor yet.
00:04:24
Speaker
But yeah, I was like, when the pool, you know, I'm used to being at the beach and you have like riptide, you know, which is very, very serious, first of all.
00:04:34
Speaker
But, you know, your flags, what's the chop of the water?
00:04:37
Speaker
What's going on?
00:04:38
Speaker
I'm used to the flags at a beach.
00:04:39
Speaker
Like, how do you live in a place where they're like, we can't go outside today's school children because there's bear.
00:04:47
Speaker
I feel like we might be in the wrong place.
00:04:50
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know how you do that.
00:04:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:04:53
Speaker
Could you?
00:04:55
Speaker
No, I don't think so.
00:04:56
Speaker
They're scary to me too, but.
00:04:59
Speaker
Well, I, um, one of the other funny things that happened during that time was, um, Juliana and I were talking about, um, what we were going to bed our second night there.
00:05:10
Speaker
I was delusional.
00:05:11
Speaker
I, you know, you get travel delusion a little bit when you're,
00:05:15
Speaker
You're on the road for work and then you're on the road for life and real life.
00:05:19
Speaker
And I had a podcast going in my right ear.
00:05:22
Speaker
Of course, it was true crime.
00:05:24
Speaker
And it was very like, of course.
00:05:27
Speaker
I mean, what else do you do?
00:05:29
Speaker
Do something even more morbid.
00:05:31
Speaker
than what we do for a living sometimes.
00:05:33
Speaker
But I, um, put this podcast in, she's kind of talking to me.
00:05:37
Speaker
Like, I really don't know when Juliana is going to talk to me.
00:05:40
Speaker
She's like at that age where it's like, I need to be responsive when she does, but half the time she's probably not talking to me.
00:05:47
Speaker
Um,
00:05:48
Speaker
And she, I like blurred out, oh my gosh.
00:05:52
Speaker
And she goes, what?
00:05:53
Speaker
And I said, oh, it's something that they just said in this podcast.
00:05:56
Speaker
And it was pretty morbid.
00:05:57
Speaker
It was, he was like the guy like dismembered and then disemboweled.
00:06:03
Speaker
Those were the words though.
00:06:05
Speaker
And it caught me off guard.
00:06:06
Speaker
And she goes, what does disemboweled mean?
00:06:09
Speaker
And I was like, well, yeah.
00:06:12
Speaker
so it's kind of like, you know, you have your gut, right?
00:06:15
Speaker
And she was like, you mean my intestines?
00:06:17
Speaker
And I said, yeah.
00:06:18
Speaker
Okay.
00:06:18
Speaker
So you have your intestines.
00:06:19
Speaker
I said, you have a lot of them.
00:06:21
Speaker
So if you cut your stomach open, like they can all fall out.
00:06:23
Speaker
That's what disemboweled means.
00:06:24
Speaker
And she goes, so like, is that the skinny intestines?
00:06:29
Speaker
And I was like, wait, I go, wait, what?
00:06:33
Speaker
And she goes, no, no, like no crap.
00:06:36
Speaker
She goes, you're not going to put this on your podcast.
00:06:39
Speaker
Are you?
00:06:40
Speaker
And I said, absolutely I am.
00:06:42
Speaker
She goes, I already know you put everything Maddox says wrong on and now you're going to see.
00:06:46
Speaker
But what is it called?
00:06:47
Speaker
Skinny intestine?
00:06:48
Speaker
Large intestines?
00:06:49
Speaker
Like, what are they?
00:06:50
Speaker
And I was like, it's small and large.
00:06:53
Speaker
But it was so funny.
00:06:55
Speaker
She was more worried about making it to this segment than anything else.
00:06:59
Speaker
And I was like, yes, you are.
00:07:01
Speaker
Congratulations, Juliana.
00:07:02
Speaker
Yay, Juliana.
00:07:04
Speaker
We're going to give you a circle clap.
00:07:05
Speaker
But does she love them to even know?
00:07:08
Speaker
If she made it?
00:07:09
Speaker
She listens.
00:07:09
Speaker
That's how I knew.
00:07:10
Speaker
I said, how do you know I talked about Maddox?
00:07:12
Speaker
She goes, I listened to your podcast.
00:07:16
Speaker
Aw, that's cute that she listens.
00:07:18
Speaker
14.
00:07:18
Speaker
14.
00:07:18
Speaker
That's awesome.
00:07:19
Speaker
She listens and she follows us on Instagram.
00:07:22
Speaker
Plug, plug, plug.
00:07:24
Speaker
She follows us.
00:07:25
Speaker
She follows so she hears everything.
00:07:27
Speaker
She goes, please,
Introduction to Skin Cancer Awareness
00:07:28
Speaker
are you about to make this into your podcast?
00:07:30
Speaker
And I was like, absolutely.
00:07:31
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:07:34
Speaker
This is great content, G. I was like texting it in my notes as she was talking.
00:07:40
Speaker
So I know.
00:07:41
Speaker
All right.
00:07:42
Speaker
I feel like we've got so much to catch up on.
00:07:44
Speaker
I was telling you right before we started, I dropped a drill on my foot yesterday and I think my foot's broken.
00:07:50
Speaker
And you were gonna tell me.
00:07:51
Speaker
Yeah, you know, that happens.
00:07:52
Speaker
I actually dropped a, I was getting something out of the freezer.
00:07:57
Speaker
This is like years ago.
00:07:59
Speaker
And a pound of frozen chicken flew out and fell.
00:08:03
Speaker
One pound, how specific?
00:08:04
Speaker
Just one pound.
00:08:05
Speaker
But I mean, it was, you know, rock hard frozen.
00:08:07
Speaker
And it landed right on my little toe.
00:08:09
Speaker
And I think I broke it.
00:08:11
Speaker
And I could not walk for like days.
00:08:12
Speaker
Like I was like limping around the grocery store.
00:08:15
Speaker
And I was like, what is wrong with you?
00:08:17
Speaker
I was like, I really think I broke my toe.
00:08:20
Speaker
From a pound of chicken.
00:08:21
Speaker
A pound of chicken.
00:08:22
Speaker
That fell on my toe.
00:08:23
Speaker
But a drill sounds pretty bad, too.
00:08:25
Speaker
You probably did drink it.
00:08:27
Speaker
Well, I think I did.
00:08:29
Speaker
I would say I would send a picture.
00:08:31
Speaker
I'll send a picture to you privately.
00:08:33
Speaker
It's one of those things when I dropped it, I was like, son of a mother.
00:08:36
Speaker
You know, like it hurt.
00:08:38
Speaker
But I kind of forgot I did it until 3 a.m.
00:08:42
Speaker
And I've been up since 3 a.m.
00:08:45
Speaker
And for context, everybody, it's like 10.
00:08:47
Speaker
Yeah.
00:08:48
Speaker
So, AM.
00:08:50
Speaker
So, it's, I'm halfway into my work day.
00:08:53
Speaker
I don't know about you.
00:08:55
Speaker
But, okay.
00:08:55
Speaker
I was not
Understanding Skin Cancer: Types and Risks
00:08:56
Speaker
awake at 3 AM.
00:08:58
Speaker
I could have woken you up.
00:08:59
Speaker
I had a lot on my mind.
00:09:00
Speaker
One of the things on my mind, though, was the fact that we're in May.
00:09:05
Speaker
It's gonna be May.
00:09:07
Speaker
We're here.
00:09:08
Speaker
And I do think in all seriousness that it could be a good opportunity for us to dive into a topic that does affect like millions of Americans, millions of people around the world, actually, but does fly under the radar, something that we don't talk about a lot.
00:09:22
Speaker
And that is skin cancer and may a skin cancer awareness, correct?
00:09:27
Speaker
It is.
00:09:28
Speaker
Yep.
00:09:29
Speaker
So I thought it'd be a good idea, you know, in our typical fashion, we do something very lighthearted and fun.
00:09:35
Speaker
And this is still, we want this to, to feel light, but maybe not so much, um, uh, factor fiction or anything like that, but just really talking about skin cancer.
00:09:46
Speaker
Um, I would love for us to walk through prevention and early signs and treatment advances, and even like some of those myths that we need to retire for the good.
00:09:55
Speaker
So what do you think about talking about skin cancer for now?
00:09:58
Speaker
Sounds good.
00:09:59
Speaker
Let's do it.
00:10:00
Speaker
I'll start off with an easy question for you, Alicia.
00:10:02
Speaker
Hit me.
00:10:03
Speaker
Hit me with it.
00:10:04
Speaker
Tell us what skin cancer is.
00:10:06
Speaker
Okay.
00:10:07
Speaker
Well, skin cancer is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the skin, but it's actually most often caused by damage from ultraviolet or what we see commonly is UV radiation, whether that's from sunlight or artificial sources like tanning beds, et cetera.
00:10:24
Speaker
It's actually the most common cancer in the United States.
00:10:27
Speaker
So I guess when I think of cancer, I always go to very dramatic and really painful.
00:10:34
Speaker
I guess all cancers are painful, but, you know, I don't know.
00:10:37
Speaker
Maybe I think the worst.
00:10:38
Speaker
But every year there's actually more people that are diagnosed with skin cancer than any other cancers combined.
00:10:43
Speaker
So there are three major types.
00:10:44
Speaker
We've got a basal cell carcinoma.
00:10:47
Speaker
We have squamous cell carcinoma.
00:10:49
Speaker
And then there's melanoma.
00:10:50
Speaker
And basal cells, squamous cells, they're really more common.
00:10:53
Speaker
They tend to grow slowly.
00:10:55
Speaker
But the melanoma is the one I think that we hear about the most.
00:10:58
Speaker
That's the more aggressive one that can spread really quickly.
00:11:01
Speaker
It metastasizes very quickly, and it can be really fatal if it's not caught early.
00:11:06
Speaker
But the encouraging part is that if skin cancer is detected early, the prognosis is usually pretty good.
00:11:13
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:15
Speaker
So what's the prevalence?
00:11:16
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:17
Speaker
April?
00:11:17
Speaker
So, yeah, overall, if you look at it, the research shows that about one in five Americans are going to develop skin cancer in their lifetime.
00:11:24
Speaker
So as you said, it's the most common cancer in the United States.
00:11:28
Speaker
It's also very prevalent worldwide.
00:11:31
Speaker
And so the incidence has really increased over the years.
00:11:34
Speaker
So overall, basal cell carcinoma has increased 145% between 1976, where it was around 1976 to 1984 compared to 2000 to 2010.
00:11:47
Speaker
Wow.
00:11:48
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:50
Speaker
And squamous cell carcinoma has actually increased like 263% over that same period of time.
00:11:56
Speaker
And then there's melanoma has increased as well over the years.
00:12:01
Speaker
But the trend with that is over the past decade is kind of varies with age.
00:12:06
Speaker
But in general, there's been about a 31.5 increase between 2011 and 2019.
00:12:08
Speaker
Yeah.
00:12:12
Speaker
So it's definitely out there and prevalent, you know, and we're seeing it more and more.
00:12:16
Speaker
And I think too, and we'll talk about this a little bit later, but really early detection is key.
00:12:21
Speaker
Right.
00:12:21
Speaker
And so I think the more that people are aware of it and the more they're watching for it, we probably are noticing more of it, you know, cause we're looking for it.
00:12:29
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:12:29
Speaker
And that's, you know, kind of ties into my question for you here is like, if you were to think about this, who, who would you think was at risk?
00:12:38
Speaker
Who's at most risk for skin cancer?
00:12:40
Speaker
And like,
00:12:42
Speaker
Are there any surprising risk factors to you, to anything that resonated when we were studying this topic?
00:12:46
Speaker
So skin cancer can actually affect anybody regardless of their skin color.
00:12:51
Speaker
But in general, Caucasians have the highest risk of melanoma compared to other races.
00:12:56
Speaker
And so their lifetime risk of melanoma is about 3%.
00:13:00
Speaker
And you can compare that to African-Americans, which is about 0.1%.
00:13:05
Speaker
And then Hispanics, which is about 0.5%.
00:13:06
Speaker
And so
00:13:09
Speaker
the incidence of melanoma among non-Hispanic Caucasian individuals is about 30 times higher than that among non-Hispanic black or Asian or Pacific Islander individuals.
00:13:21
Speaker
And the other thing I found interesting is that skin cancer in patients with darker skin tones is often diagnosed when it's later in the stages.
00:13:29
Speaker
So that makes it a little bit more hard, you know, difficult to treat as we mentioned, because if you see it early, you know, it's easier to treat and get rid of, but if you diagnose it later on, then that's harder.
00:13:40
Speaker
Yep.
00:13:40
Speaker
And I'd add to that too.
00:13:42
Speaker
You know, my, um, my uncle was born, he was born with a lot of, um, like just kind of genetic defects.
00:13:48
Speaker
He, um, I can't remember what the diagnosis was, but he, he basically didn't have the abdominal, um, muscles to support his like rib cage, like, like, like to keep his posture.
00:14:01
Speaker
So he always wore this, um, belt or this kind of, um,
00:14:07
Speaker
corset type of a thing.
00:14:08
Speaker
But, um, he also had issues with his kidneys since he was very young.
00:14:12
Speaker
He had, um, multiple kidney transplants and he actually passed away very young from squamous cell.
00:14:18
Speaker
And I remember obviously being in medicine and thinking when my mom first said squamous cell squamous cell.
00:14:24
Speaker
And I was like, that's like the easiest retreat, you know?
00:14:27
Speaker
Um,
00:14:28
Speaker
But because of his weakened immune status, the squamous cell actually spread to his lung.
00:14:35
Speaker
I mean, it was pretty grossly metastatic, and that's what he did end up passing away from.
00:14:39
Speaker
So transplant recipients are another high risk for these type of cancers.
00:14:44
Speaker
And what I actually thought was interesting was pilots and flight attendants have a higher rate of skin cancer, but it's likely increased UV exposure at higher altitudes.
00:14:56
Speaker
Interesting.
00:14:57
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:58
Speaker
I thought so too.
00:14:59
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:59
Speaker
The other thing I'll note too, is that people with the darker skin tones, they're prone to it in areas that aren't commonly exposed to sun.
00:15:06
Speaker
So like the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, inside the mouth, you can actually get it under fingernails.
00:15:13
Speaker
I saw
Recognizing Skin Cancer Symptoms
00:15:14
Speaker
the nail thing recently.
00:15:15
Speaker
It's not new, but I think it's more people that are doing a lot of the UV light with, you know, shellac nail, gel nail,
00:15:24
Speaker
anything that's curing nail polish.
00:15:28
Speaker
I've seen like an increase there, but here's something I'd like to talk about here.
00:15:35
Speaker
So we know what the prevalence is, risk, but what are the symptoms?
00:15:41
Speaker
What symptoms should we be looking for?
00:15:43
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:44
Speaker
So you want to, you want to look for, you know, any spots on your skin that look funny, right?
00:15:49
Speaker
So if you know, if you have, you know,
00:15:52
Speaker
a mole or something already, but you notice it changing, right?
00:15:55
Speaker
So you notice it getting larger, changing in color, getting raised off the skin, you know, so really anything that sort of pops up that looks different or that you hadn't noticed in the past is something that you should get checked out.
00:16:10
Speaker
Yep.
00:16:11
Speaker
And then the ABCDEs.
00:16:13
Speaker
Do you remember that from school?
00:16:16
Speaker
The ABCD ease of what people should look out for.
00:16:19
Speaker
And let me share those with you guys.
00:16:21
Speaker
So a is we're looking at symmetry.
00:16:24
Speaker
So you've got a mole on your skin anywhere on your skin.
00:16:28
Speaker
What we wanna do is look for asymmetry.
00:16:31
Speaker
Does one half match the other?
00:16:32
Speaker
If you folded it in half, would it be a perfectly round circle or would it look really wonky if you did that?
00:16:39
Speaker
B is for the border.
00:16:41
Speaker
Is it irregular?
00:16:42
Speaker
Does it have jagged edges?
00:16:44
Speaker
C is for color, multiple shapes, shades, excuse me.
00:16:48
Speaker
You can have like black or brown
00:16:50
Speaker
There's some that are red and some that are even white, some that can show up white on people.
00:16:55
Speaker
And I think I'll tell you, April, I think I always think black, black, black is what I get concerned about.
00:17:02
Speaker
But white is how some of these irregularities can show up.
00:17:06
Speaker
D obviously is a diameter.
00:17:08
Speaker
One thing that I remember specifically around this was the size of a
00:17:13
Speaker
an eraser of a pencil.
00:17:15
Speaker
I don't know if you heard that, but you know, a mole that starts growing larger than that is something to be looking at.
00:17:21
Speaker
And then E is evolving.
00:17:23
Speaker
Is it changing?
00:17:24
Speaker
Is it changing shape?
00:17:24
Speaker
Is it changing color?
00:17:26
Speaker
Is it changing sensation?
Sun Exposure and Safety Myths
00:17:27
Speaker
These things can itch sometimes they can even bleed, but even like non-melanoma skin cancers, even stark, does it start as like a pink bump?
00:17:36
Speaker
Um, they can start as that flaky patch or sore throat that won't heal or excuse me, sore throat, a sore throat.
00:17:42
Speaker
that won't heal.
00:17:44
Speaker
But they often, we often ignore these things.
00:17:47
Speaker
So paying attention to our skin is incredibly important.
00:17:51
Speaker
Yep.
00:17:52
Speaker
And, you know, you can go to the dermatologist and they can do, you know, evaluation of the skin and then based on your, your risk factors, right?
00:17:59
Speaker
Like they can look at your skin tone and family history, things like that.
00:18:02
Speaker
They can let you know how often do you have to come back in and get checked, right?
00:18:06
Speaker
So sometimes it's every year, sometimes it's every few years.
00:18:10
Speaker
But going to get a good baseline eval and then following up on, you know, whenever it's recommended is good practice.
00:18:16
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:18:16
Speaker
Because they can, look, there's areas where we can't really see that well, right?
00:18:21
Speaker
On your own body.
00:18:21
Speaker
So you got to have somebody else take a look at it.
00:18:24
Speaker
Yep.
00:18:24
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:18:25
Speaker
All right.
00:18:26
Speaker
So you mentioned the UV rays, Alicia.
00:18:29
Speaker
So there's UVA and UVB.
00:18:32
Speaker
So tell us what the difference is between those two.
00:18:34
Speaker
Yeah.
00:18:37
Speaker
This one always trips me up, April.
00:18:40
Speaker
Okay.
00:18:42
Speaker
I'm truly going to try to remember off the top of my head because I did the same research you did.
00:18:48
Speaker
But one is a shorter ray, one's a longer ray, right?
00:18:54
Speaker
Right.
00:18:55
Speaker
Okay.
00:18:56
Speaker
You tell me more.
00:18:57
Speaker
That's all I remember.
00:18:57
Speaker
And I know there's a lot of UVs.
00:19:02
Speaker
I also know that.
00:19:03
Speaker
Yes.
00:19:03
Speaker
Yes.
00:19:05
Speaker
So as we mentioned, skin cancer oftentimes is caused from exposure to the UV rays.
00:19:09
Speaker
So there are UVA rays, which are actually aging rays.
00:19:14
Speaker
So they can prematurely age your skin.
00:19:16
Speaker
So those are the ones that cause those wrinkles that everybody loves and the age spots that we get as we get older.
00:19:21
Speaker
We don't love.
00:19:22
Speaker
And interestingly, they can pass through window glass.
00:19:26
Speaker
So, you know, you talked about pilots, right?
00:19:28
Speaker
Like they have that huge window right in front of them that they are, you know, behind flying.
00:19:33
Speaker
Right.
00:19:35
Speaker
But also it's funny because when we take like long road trips and I'm in the passenger seat and if you're on the side of the car where the sun has been shining in, I do feel like I had gotten sun all day.
00:19:46
Speaker
You tamed.
00:19:46
Speaker
I'm in the car.
00:19:47
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:47
Speaker
Well, for me, it's a sunburn, but yes.
00:19:49
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:51
Speaker
Maybe I should start putting on sunscreen when we go on road trips.
00:19:55
Speaker
And then the UVB rays are the burning rays.
00:19:58
Speaker
So they primarily are the cause of sunburn and they are actually blocked by window glass.
00:20:03
Speaker
Oh, really?
00:20:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:20:05
Speaker
Interesting.
00:20:06
Speaker
Right?
00:20:07
Speaker
I always wondered, like,
00:20:10
Speaker
you know, when we talked about skin, you know, obviously skin cancer scares all of us or, or makes us all think, um, a lot about going out into the sun, but I don't want like people to worry about going out.
00:20:24
Speaker
I think there's just being smart about sun exposure, right?
00:20:28
Speaker
You know, like I think our UV, was it the UVA or the UVB is higher or maybe all of the UV rates are higher between 10 and four.
00:20:35
Speaker
I always heard that.
00:20:36
Speaker
And actually, if you go like to
00:20:38
Speaker
a little bit South and Caribbean, they'll tell you 11 and two are your highest sun indexes.
00:20:44
Speaker
It's actually kind of funny.
00:20:45
Speaker
Juliana will look up the sun index and she uses it in reverse.
00:20:49
Speaker
She'll say the sun index is nine today.
00:20:52
Speaker
This is a great tanning day.
00:20:54
Speaker
And I go, this is a terrible tanning day.
00:20:57
Speaker
Like it's like the rays are too hot, but you know, you also mentioned like windows and things like that.
00:21:04
Speaker
We don't think about one thing I heard.
00:21:07
Speaker
Was always putting on like an SPF for your face routine, you know, even just your skincare.
00:21:14
Speaker
And I younger was like, I would love darker skin all of the time.
00:21:21
Speaker
But I have started the SPF 30.
00:21:24
Speaker
I think a 30 or higher.
00:21:25
Speaker
They say like you reapply that every two hours.
00:21:27
Speaker
I don't do that.
00:21:28
Speaker
but I do do it in the morning with part of my routine.
00:21:31
Speaker
But a lot of people forget areas like their ears or their neck or their scalp or like, and we talked about fingers earlier.
00:21:36
Speaker
There's other areas that we need to focus on protecting as well, but you can still enjoy the sun, right?
00:21:43
Speaker
And those UVA and UVB rays without worrying as much.
00:21:50
Speaker
For sure.
00:21:50
Speaker
Yes.
00:21:50
Speaker
So you should, yep.
00:21:51
Speaker
As you mentioned, this SPF 30 or higher.
00:21:54
Speaker
And you have to remember too, that
00:21:57
Speaker
If you even the higher the SPF, it doesn't last any longer.
00:22:01
Speaker
So the recommendation is, you know, is every two hours, regardless of, you know, what SPF you use.
00:22:07
Speaker
But it's interesting that you you bring up the kids because, I mean, I remember as a kid, I mean, we were pretty good about sunscreen, but there were still times where I got burnt to a crisp out of the pool and.
00:22:19
Speaker
experiencing five or more blistering sunburns between ages of 15 and 20 increases your risk of melanoma by 80%.
00:22:27
Speaker
Oh my gosh.
00:22:29
Speaker
Really?
00:22:29
Speaker
Yeah.
00:22:30
Speaker
Yes.
00:22:30
Speaker
So, um, this just gave me chills.
00:22:32
Speaker
I know.
00:22:33
Speaker
I know.
00:22:33
Speaker
So in my kids, you know, like everywhere I'm neurotic about it because I don't want to burn and I don't want them to burn.
00:22:39
Speaker
And
00:22:40
Speaker
I'm always like, put on sunscreen.
00:22:42
Speaker
And they're like, oh, you know.
00:22:43
Speaker
And so if you're a parent listening to this, please make sure your kids are using sunscreen because the more sun damage they get as a kid, the higher risk they have as an adult.
00:22:53
Speaker
And April, that's
Preventing Skin Cancer: Protective Measures
00:22:54
Speaker
a great point because skin cancer is preventable, you know?
00:22:58
Speaker
It is.
00:22:59
Speaker
In most cases, I'll say, it's preventable, which is kind of the part that makes it really frustrating from a public health standpoint for us.
00:23:07
Speaker
It's like the single most important thing you can do, like you just mentioned, to reduce you, your children, whomever's cumulative UV exposure is avoiding tanning beds and putting on some sunblock.
00:23:21
Speaker
And also...
00:23:23
Speaker
They have those like, you know, they have those swim shirts that are long sleeve shirts that you can wear when you're at the beach that, you know, protect you from the rays that, you know, you can swim in and things like that.
00:23:33
Speaker
So there's even clothing now that you can wear to protect yourself when you're out.
00:23:37
Speaker
you know, swimming or at the beach.
00:23:39
Speaker
Well, that's a good point as well, because I think people also think that we really only need to do this on the beach or vacation, right?
00:23:50
Speaker
And this is the part where we get lost, but incidental exposure, like walking your dog or going outside for lunch or like hanging outside with your kids, that, that all adds up over time.
00:23:59
Speaker
We don't live, I mean, most of us,
00:24:02
Speaker
If you do, please ring me.
00:24:03
Speaker
I would love to live on a beach with you, but most of us don't live on a beach.
00:24:08
Speaker
All of that incidental exposure does add up.
00:24:12
Speaker
So like you just mentioned, if you have children, like these model, these habits early, these are habits.
00:24:18
Speaker
My family didn't have, we put Crisco on, like I watched my mother and her friends put Crisco on and go lay out in the sun.
00:24:26
Speaker
Like that was in baby oil and things like really to facilitate tanning.
00:24:31
Speaker
But like you just mentioned, sunburns in childhood, they do increase our risk.
00:24:36
Speaker
of melanoma later in life.
00:24:37
Speaker
So, you know, early habits land hard for our kids.
00:24:40
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:41
Speaker
Well, and one of the things that like we, I've started doing too is, well, and of course, you know, like sports fields, if you're sitting at the sports field, you're just sitting there baking in a sense to make sure you're protected.
00:24:50
Speaker
But I've started always wearing a hat because you think about, like, I think about the part in my, my hair and my girl's hair when we're out, you know, and I am always spraying the part in their hair because you don't think about that.
00:25:03
Speaker
We forget about that bad boy, don't we?
00:25:05
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:05
Speaker
And like the hat, you know, and it's funny, I went to the eye doctor this year for my exam and she's like, you know, do you wear sunglasses to protect your eyes?
00:25:12
Speaker
And I was like, I just wear a hat, you know, and it protects everything.
00:25:15
Speaker
So I started doing that to everywhere.
00:25:18
Speaker
Anytime I'm out in the sun for a long period of time, I'll put a hat on.
00:25:21
Speaker
So very interesting.
00:25:24
Speaker
Very, very interesting story.
00:25:26
Speaker
Matt is a
00:25:28
Speaker
fishes, you know, out on the water all the time.
00:25:32
Speaker
Um, just, you know, huge in nature and mad squamous cell in his eye, um, which I didn't even know could happen.
00:25:39
Speaker
Um, and it started as this kind of, kind of looked like a sty in the eye.
00:25:44
Speaker
And I remember looking and going like, what is that?
00:25:47
Speaker
And, um,
00:25:48
Speaker
Over a period of time, it got bigger and bigger and bigger.
00:25:51
Speaker
And he ended up having to have, I don't know, eye surgeries freak me out, ape.
00:25:55
Speaker
I could do a lot of things.
00:25:57
Speaker
I don't do the eyes very well.
00:25:59
Speaker
Had to have that taken out.
00:26:00
Speaker
And this doc was like, he got the cancer in his eye because of his exposure constantly being on the water and constantly fishing as well.
00:26:07
Speaker
And I'm sure that all was, like this says, like cumulatively, right?
00:26:12
Speaker
through his years but
Steps After Finding a Suspicious Spot
00:26:14
Speaker
it is it's it's rough um and i i can relate to the head being burnt ironically and maybe that's because i have dark hair and i track the sun but a head sunburn is a weird feeling is it not it is and then it's just peeling and it looks like you have it's so weird like it is so weird okay so
00:26:36
Speaker
So what do you do if you find a spot?
00:26:39
Speaker
What would the next steps be with your doctor and how do they treat these?
00:26:44
Speaker
I was going to say, if I find a spot for me, I think the first step immediately for me is going ahead and writing my will, final will and testament.
00:26:54
Speaker
Because that's my approach to life.
00:26:57
Speaker
I'm just kidding.
00:26:58
Speaker
But I would panic, I'm going to tell you.
00:27:00
Speaker
But I'm going to do the ABCDEs of that, right?
00:27:03
Speaker
And then I'm going to go to my dermatologist.
00:27:06
Speaker
Um, one thing that was told to me when I was growing up and I, for those that don't know, I'm biracial, um, you know, darker skin tone than April.
00:27:13
Speaker
I was told growing up that African-American or darker skinned non-white people, um, do not get it.
00:27:21
Speaker
It wasn't, we were at less risk.
00:27:23
Speaker
It was, we don't get it at all.
00:27:26
Speaker
So it was later in life for me and probably more into my practice that
00:27:30
Speaker
that I realized I probably should see a dermatologist.
00:27:34
Speaker
So I would say if I had something abnormal, I'd start with going to see my dermatologist.
00:27:40
Speaker
If they see something that they think is abnormal, we're probably going to have what, like a skin biopsy or a shave or a punch or excisional biopsy.
00:27:48
Speaker
And then, you know, if it turns out to be cancer, then we talk treatment from there.
00:27:53
Speaker
Yep.
00:27:53
Speaker
And there's lots of options, right?
00:27:55
Speaker
You know, so they can do cryotherapy, they can do surgery, they can do chemo, radiation.
00:27:59
Speaker
So
00:28:00
Speaker
Depending on what that biopsy shows, you know, there are options to treat and, you know, further workup is needed.
00:28:07
Speaker
So, but definitely the first step is to get to your physician and get it checked out and go from there.
00:28:13
Speaker
Immediately and trust your gut.
00:28:14
Speaker
Because I think a lot of us get in those moments where we like that, we see that drop in the stomach, you know, where you go, phew.
00:28:22
Speaker
we know when it's not right, but we also do avoid kind of taking care of ourselves.
00:28:26
Speaker
Um, I, well, there's a fear, right?
00:28:28
Speaker
There's a fear that something is going to be wrong.
00:28:30
Speaker
So you're like, Oh, do I really want to go?
00:28:32
Speaker
But you should go, you know?
00:28:33
Speaker
And I think in the medical community, if we're being honest, we, we do happen to see in the hospital setting, right?
00:28:39
Speaker
People don't come to the hospital cause they're okay.
00:28:41
Speaker
So, um, we do see the worst of the worst.
00:28:44
Speaker
And I've had, um,
00:28:46
Speaker
Pure, you know, our fellow nurses felt, you know, fellow clinicians just in general, but one in particular who who passed away from this very young, she was very young.
00:28:55
Speaker
She thought it was a ward.
00:28:57
Speaker
Um, we worked together.
00:28:58
Speaker
She was a nurse and she was 32.
00:29:00
Speaker
She had two young children, um, thought it was a wart on her knee.
00:29:03
Speaker
And by the time they had figured it out, it was like a metastatic metastatic melanoma.
00:29:08
Speaker
And that was the first time I got to know melanoma and, um, had like an intense fear because I watched it take a life at a very young age.
00:29:19
Speaker
Um, and somebody that I was connected to.
00:29:20
Speaker
And I, I, I just, you know, maybe want to put a PSA out here that like,
00:29:27
Speaker
all of us are at risk, but, but I wish she had known these things at that time.
00:29:34
Speaker
It was just fairly new, you know?
00:29:35
Speaker
Yeah.
00:29:36
Speaker
Yeah, for sure.
00:29:37
Speaker
Yeah.
00:29:38
Speaker
All right.
00:29:38
Speaker
So what's the biggest myth you've heard about cancer?
00:29:41
Speaker
Um, I mean, I think, I think I, you know, as a kid, I heard the same myth you did, right?
00:29:47
Speaker
The darker skin people would not get it, uh, which is, is not true.
00:29:52
Speaker
Right.
00:29:52
Speaker
As we already talked about earlier.
00:29:55
Speaker
What I learned about that, though, was that melanin, it does offer natural protection, right?
00:30:00
Speaker
That we've got a little bit more melanin and it absolutely but it does absolutely occur with people of color.
00:30:06
Speaker
So any people of color, please know you have the same risk whilst your risk may not be 0.3, as April said, percent.
00:30:15
Speaker
what was it?
00:30:17
Speaker
Three, 0.3% to 1% or 0.1%, something like that.
00:30:20
Speaker
But I mean, the risks are a tiny bit lower.
00:30:23
Speaker
There's still risks.
00:30:24
Speaker
And like you mentioned, it's diagnosed in later stages, which is tends to be a little bit more tragic.
00:30:33
Speaker
Indoor tanning also.
00:30:35
Speaker
That's a group one carcinogen.
00:30:38
Speaker
It's just like tobacco to some degree.
00:30:41
Speaker
And I also want to stop the thought of we don't need sunscreen because it's cloudy.
00:30:50
Speaker
Oh, yeah.
00:30:51
Speaker
80% of UV rays still come through the clouds.
00:30:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:30:53
Speaker
So those are the days you actually get burnt more because it's hot, not as hot, and you're out there longer.
00:30:57
Speaker
And then you go in and you're.
00:31:00
Speaker
hurt
Podcast Conclusion and Audience Engagement
00:31:01
Speaker
so that's correct we see the sun and we like sun means sunscreen and clouds mean nothing but that's that's wrong people so hey i love this ape um we tend to do a little jokey stuff but you know our our goal here is to get the right information out and to have these discussions and even stuff that april and i like being in this industry don't know or maybe things that have changed since we started practice so i appreciate this conversation
00:31:29
Speaker
Yeah, it was fun.
00:31:31
Speaker
So thanks for joining us, everyone.
00:31:32
Speaker
And as always, we'd love to hear feedback from you.
00:31:35
Speaker
If you have suggestions for topics you want to hear about, you can reach us at our email, which is oncallpodcasts at soundphysicians.com.
00:31:41
Speaker
You can also find us on Instagram at oncallwithapril and Alicia.
00:31:46
Speaker
And until the next time, you guys stay well, and we will stay on call.
00:31:51
Speaker
Have a great May, everybody.
00:31:53
Speaker
Bye.