Protecting Yourself from Skin Cancer
- Actress Courteney Cox talked about the importance of protecting your skin from damage by wearing sunscreen and not letting yourself “fry.”
- She hopes that her daughter, 18-year-old daughter Coco Arquette, will not make the same mistakes she did when she was younger.
- One of our experts says people should be using broad-spectrum sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30 and reapplying every two hours.
- In addition, people should be regularly visiting a dermatologist and checking their skin for spots that look suspicious. If a spot on your skin falls under the ABCDE criteria, you should see a dermatologist promptly.
- The acronym ABCDE stands for Asymmetrical moles, Borders or Bleeding, Colors, Diameter and Evolution. Click this link for a further breakdown of the criteria.
Cox is an actress best known for her role as Monica Geller on the sitcom “Friends,” but she is also a devoted mother to her 18-year-old daughter Coco Arquette. Although the two don’t always see eye to eye, Cox and her daughter are very close. She says the precious relationship they share is reflective of the one she had with her own mother who died in December 2020.
Read MoreView this post on Instagram“I was really close to my mom. She was my best friend,” Cox said in 2022. “And I have that with Coco. She tells me everything.”
With that closeness comes a desire to protect. And, most recently, Cox has talked about her ongoing advice to her daughter regarding one very important aspect of overall health: sun care.
She wants her daughter to protect her skin better than she did in years past.
“I always say to my daughter, Coco, your skin is incredible. Let me show you my chest,” she said, indicating that she has sun damage on her chest from not using adequate sun protection. “Then she’s like, mom, I would never have that kind of skin.
“I’m like, yeah. Your face you always look at, but you forget your body,” she added, stressing to her daughter that her entire body – not just her face – needs to be protected from the sun.
During an interview about her new home care brand Homecourt, Cox stressed the importance for everyone not just her daughter to prevent skin damage.
“Don’t lay in the sun and don't fry,” she said. “Wear sunscreen and care about your body. Really use the right products because it catches up.”
Protecting Your Skin
SurvivorNet can’t agree more with Courteney Cox’s advice. And it’s crucial to make skin protection a habit rather than something you only do for certain parts of your body at certain times of the year.
RELATED: Choose the Right Sunscreen and Use it Often
"My patients ask me all the time, 'Do I really need sunscreen every day, all year round?' The answer is yes," Dr. Dendy Engelman, a board certified dermatologic surgeon at Shafer Clinic Fifth Avenue, told SurvivorNet. "People think they only need sun protection when they're in the bright, warm sunshine.
"But the reality is, we can get sun damage at any time throughout the year, even in the cold, wintry months. Think about when you go skiing. That's a very high risk. Even though it's cold, our skin should be protected."
Even if we’re unprotected for just 15 minutes a day, the cumulative effects on our skin over a lifetime can be "very real," according to Dr. Engelman. That’s why sunscreen should always be a part of your daily routine.
Top 5 Ways to Protect Your Skin From Skin Cancer
"The reality is, the sun can damage us even in incidental exposure," she said. "The more we [wear sunscreen], the more we're protected, the more our risk is limited.
"I just tell patients, 'Make it part of your daily routine. Just like you brush your teeth, you should be reaching for sunscreen every day.'"
But how do we effectively protect ourselves from the sun with sunscreen? Dr. Cecilia Larocca, a dermatologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, says people should be using sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30 and reapplying every two hours.
“The truth is that when you put on sunscreen, most of us don’t even put on enough sunscreen to actually get the true SPF that’s listed on the label,” she explained. “In general, we actually only put on 50% of what our SPF is.
“So, if you put on an SPF 60, you’re likely to get an SPF 30 effect. Regardless, even with that information, we recommend a minimum of SPF 30.”
In addition, people need to use broad spectrum sunscreen meaning it covers both UVB and UVA rays.
“Thankfully, those are FDA regulated terms,” Dr. Larocca said. “And if it’s not listed on the sunscreen bottle, chances are it doesn’t provide that.”
Performing Regular Self-Checks
Another important part of skin cancer prevention and protection revolves around self-checks. Everyone should take it upon themselves to regularly assess their skin for any suspicious looking spots in between regular dermatology visits.
Dr. Cecilia Larocca previously spoke with SurvivorNet about using the acronym ABCDE to help people decide if they need to bring any spots to their dermatologist’s attention. If you notice that any spots on your skin fall into one or more of the categories below, make sure to see a dermatologist for a full skin assessment immediately. Early detection of skin cancer is key to successful treatment, especially when it comes to melanoma the deadliest form of skin cancer.
Examining Your Skin for Melanoma: Remember ABCDE
- Asymmetrical moles: If you drew a line straight down the center of the mole, would the sides match? If not, your mole is considered asymmetrical.
- Borders: The edges of your mole look irregular, jagged or uneven; ‘B’ can also stand for bleeding.
- Colors: Multiple distinct colors in the mole, including patches of pink, brown, grey, black or any color.
- Diameter: Is your spot larger than 6mm the average size of a pencil head eraser?
- Evolution: Is your spot changing over time? Has it gained color, lost color, brought about pain, grown itchy, changed shape, etc.?
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.