Insufficient protection from sun is major cause of skin cancer

SINGAPORE : The National Cancer Centre said doctors in Singapore are seeing more cases of skin cancer. Skin cancer is the seventh most frequent cancer for men, and for women, it ranks eighth. The top cancer for men is colorectal and for women, it's breast cancer. Inadequate protection against the sun is one major cause of skin cancer. 41-year-old Vincent Lam is a professional tennis and kite boarding instructor. And being under the sun often made his skin peel and red. "Prior to kite boarding, we used to be wind surfing. I had a very close friend... and we used to do a lot of outdoor activities as well. She passed away from skin cancer," said Lam. And that was a wake-up call for him. But Lam said not many take protecting their skin seriously. So, he makes it a point to remind his charges. "We get kids from 4 years old onwards. We play tennis at about 12 in the afternoon. The sun gets pretty hot. Even with hats and sunglasses, it doesn't really help that much, so I would advise them to put sunblock as well," said Lam. And there are many to choose from. Experts advise outdoor sports enthusiasts to choose a sunscreen that provides a broad spectrum protection - that means a sunscreen that blocks both ultra-violet 'A' (UVA) and ultra-violet 'B' (UVB) rays. "Particularly important in Asian communities are skin lightness, and fairness is really important. The UVA gives a lot of pigmenting effect on the skin and unless you provide the protection against both the UVB and the UVA part of the spectrum, the skin can get dark with even in small sunlight exposure," advised Dr Curtis Cole, a photobiologist. Besides using sunscreen, doctors said wearing protective clothing when outdoors can also reduce the risk of developing skin cancer. -CNA /ls