Summer is the perfect time to become familiar with skin cancer and the steps you can take to prevent it.

Aaron Blackham, MD, and Roberto Fratamico, MD, with Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, share the most important things you should know about skin cancer:

How common is skin cancer?

In the United States, skin cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed each year.

There is good news, though. The two most common types of skin cancer – basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma – are often curable when found and treated early.

Even melanoma – the third most common type of skin cancer and the most dangerous – has more treatment options than ever before.

Skin cancer prevention

“The main risk factor for developing skin cancer is too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays,” Fratamico says.

To prevent skin cancer, it’s best to:

• Stay in the shade

• Cover skin as much as possible and wear a hat and sunglasses

• Apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 35 or higher before going outdoors, and reapply every two hours

• Reapply sunscreen after being in water, even if you’re using water-resistant sunscreen

• Avoid being in midday sun

• Avoid tanning beds and sun lamps entirely

Skin cancer symptoms and detection

The most common skin cancer symptom is a change to the skin, like a new growth, a sore that isn’t healing or a mole that has changed.

Melanoma is identified by characteristics using the acronym, ABCDE:

• Asymmetric, meaning the two halves of the mole aren’t mirror images

• Borders that have irregular edges

• Color that varies from one end of the mole to the other

• Diameter that is wider than the eraser tip of a pencil

• Evolving, meaning the mole is growing or changing color over time, or Elevation, meaning the mole has become raised

Everyone should have a skin cancer screening done by a dermatologist every one to three years (depending on your complexion, age and level of exposure to UV rays). During this exam, doctors look for suspicious moles and freckles, discolored or bleeding patches, and more.

“Early detection offers the best chance for successful skin cancer treatment, and regular self-exams and full-body skin screenings by dermatologists allow for this,” Blackham says.

Advances in skin cancer treatment

Skin cancer treatment has come a long way over the last decade, and Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute offers the latest treatments and a multidisciplinary approach to care.

“Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute has vast expertise treating all types of skin cancer, from early-stage cases to those that have spread to other parts of the body,” Blackham says. “We provide access to a variety of clinical trials and treatment options that are not available anywhere else in the region.”

The Cancer Center at LVH–Carbon, part of Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, provides a full range of cancer services on the campus of Lehigh Valley Hospital–Carbon.

To learn more, visit LVHN.org/carboncancercenter.