SUN EXPOSURE: INCREASES DANGER OF SUNBURN, SKIN CANCER

It's 12:40 p.m. With sweat beads building up under the brim of his hat, Randy Loberg, an employee for the parks and recreation department, steps off his Groundsmaster 322-D. He walks toward the 7-UP machine behind Capaha Municipal Swimming Pool for a soda break.

At Southeast Missouri State University, Dale Webery, a construction worker for Kiefner Bros Inc., takes another bite of his ham and cheese on white as he escapes the sultry, midday heat under the portico of Kent Library.

Lance Learue, a mail carrier, begins his route between 9 and 9:30 a.m. He spends close to six hours in the sun before completing his deliveries at 2:30 or 3 p.m.

Three people.

Three different jobs.

One important similarity remains -- they all expose themselves to the sun's deadly ultraviolet rays on a daily basis.

Daily exposure to the sun means increased chances of sunburns and, even worse, increased chances of getting skin cancer.

Loberg, Webery and Learue know about skin cancer. They hear from the media, not to mention their wives, that they should take precautions against the sun, but none really gives it a second thought.

The process of getting skin cancer, or Squamous Cell Carcinoma, begins from the moment of birth, said dermatologist Dr. Kenneth Dempsey.

People receive the most exposure to the sun from birth to age 20. Actinic Keratosis, a precancerous skin lesion, can develop from this exposure, usually 20 to 40 years later.

Every year, Dempsey diagnoses more than 500 patients with Actinic Keratosis. The lesions appear as flat, pink-red patches and measure 6 millimeters across, the diameter of a pencil eraser.

Actinic Keratosis is treatable with cryosurgery and follow-up management, Dempsey said. The cold surgery freezes the lesions or scales, causing them to blister and fall off.

However, if lesions are neglected, the scaling will become thicker, usually after age 40.

"The thicker the lesion, the greater the risk of Squamous Cell Carcinoma," Dempsey said.

Treatment of Squamous Cell Carcinoma depends on the stage. With neglect, however, one in 10 tumors will invade the body. Once this happens, chances of surviving five years are low, he said.

A person's chance of developing skin cancer relies on two things, the amount of pigment in the skin and the amount of exposure to the sun.

Pigment serves as a filter for the sun's rays. This is why it's rare for an African-American to get skin cancer.

"Those with the highest risk are fair-skinned, blue-eyed individuals with a history of burning," Dempsey said.

The most effective way to survive skin cancer is to prevent it. The key to prevention is protection.

That's easier said than done.

Webery claims he doesn't have time to put sunscreen on. After all, he worked on a farm since he was little. Why should he worry about skin cancer now?

Loberg also defends his failure to use sunscreen, saying that endurance to the sun is built up over time. He's worked for eight years in the park without using anything, and all he does is get red. He never burns.

Pat Pennington, manager of emergency services at Southeast Missouri Hospital, knows better.

"People who have spent a lot of time in the sun or who work outdoors are just as susceptible to sunburns and skin cancer," she said. "A person can lay out all their life and just develop skin cancer in one season."

Learue uses sunscreen on his face and legs, but only when he thinks about it.

Excuses like "I don't have time," "The sun doesn't bother me" and "When I can remember" aren't good enough for Dempsey.

"People should learn the sun is not their friend," he said. "Everyone needs to use effective sunscreens 365 days a year, and reapply it throughout the day. It can come off with sweat, by wiping it off with the hands and from swimming."

Dempsey gives two requirements for effective sunscreens, a Sun Protection Factor of 30 and titanium dioxide.

The SPF protects against short UVB rays, the burning rays that hurt the epidermis. The titanium dioxide protects the dermis, the deeper layer of skin, from the longer UVA rays used in tanning.

To some, the entire point of being in the sun is to tan. One option is tanning beds.

Pennington sees numerous females come into the emergency room at Southeast with severe burns to the face, eyelids and genital areas from using tanning beds, often times naked.

"Tanning beds are just as bad as the sun, if not quicker," she said.

Dempsey despises the beds also.

A study by the American Academy of Dermatology revealed that tanning beds can produce up to 10 times as much electromagnetic energy as someone would receive under the hot sun between noon and 2.

"There is no such thing as a safe burn or a safe tan if you want healthy skin," he said.

Skin Cancer Risk Gauge

-from the University of Missouri-Rolla web page

(Graphic idea -- a thermometer with the red meaning increasing risk instead of increasing temperatures)

Add up the points to calculate your risk of developing skin cancer at some point in your life.

-- Hair color: blonde/red-4, brown-3, black-1

-- Eye color: blue/green-4, hazel-3, brown-2

-- After 15 to 20 minutes exposure to the sun, you: burn, maybe blister-4, burn, then tan-3, tan-1

-- Freckles: many-5, some-3, none-1

-- Your job is: outdoors-4, mixed-3, indoors-1

-- Do you have a family member who has had skin cancer: yes-5, no-1

-- Before age 18, you lived in the United States in the: South-4, Midwest-3, North-2

Scores:

10-15--below average risk

16-22--average risk

23-25--high risk

26-30--very high risk

Sunburn treatment

First-degree sunburn--pink/red skin:

-- Apply moisturizing lotions, baby oil, mineral oil or petroleum jelly to trap moisture within the skin

Minor second-degree sunburn--blister formation:

-- Apply soothing burn lotions and moisturizing lotions to trap moisture within skin

-- Take anti-inflammatory agents such as aspirin or ibuprofen to ease pain

Major second-degree burns--extensive blister formation:

-- Apply moisturizing emollients

-- Seek medical attention from a physician or dermatologist. Treatment will include oral steroids to shut down burns' inflammatory process