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The INDEPENDENT, August 1, 2012
To Your Health!
By Judy Hargis, P.A
Skin Cancers –
A Growing Problem
Skin cancer is the most com-
mon form of cancer in the Unit-
ed States. More than 2 million
people are diagnosed with skin
cancer annually. Many people
are diagnosed with more than
one skin cancer. Each year
there are more new cases of skin cancer than the
combined incidence of breast, colon, prostate and
lung cancers. It is estimated that 1 in 5 people will be
diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime. Skin can-
cer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal skin cells.
Skin cancers can spread to surrounding areas caus-
ing tissue damage, and in some cases to vital organs,
becoming deadly. There are several types of skin can-
cer you should be aware of:
Actinic Keratosis is the most common precancer. It
usually appears on sun exposed areas such as the
face, bald areas on the scalp, lips and back of hands.
It can appear as a slightly raised, scaly red patch. If di-
agnosed early, it can be easily treated, preventing the
development of skin cancer.
Basal Cell Carcinoma is the most frequently occur-
ring skin cancer. It often appears like a red open sore,
red patch, or pink, shiny growth. It can be diagnosed
with a biopsy.
Dysplastic moles (atypical moles) can resemble a
melanoma. They tend to have irregular borders and
may have more than one color such as black and
brown. People have increased risk of developing
melanoma if they have multiple dysplastic moles. It is
important to have regular follow up with your health
care provider, if diagnosed with atypical moles.
Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin can-
cer. There are approximately 120,000 new cases
each year. Approximately half of them are invasive
melanomas. It is curable if diagnosed and treated ear-
ly. They are often dark in color with irregular borders.
The important thing to remember is that if you see a
change in a mole’s size, shape or color, or if it be-
comes crusted or bleeds, it needs to be checked by
your health care provider.
Squamous cell carcinomas are mainly caused by
sun exposure over time. There are over 70,000 cases
diagnosed each year. They can become deadly if not
diagnosed early. They often appear as a persistent,
scaly red patch with irregular borders, sometimes with
crusting or bleeding as it becomes more advanced.
Early diagnosis by biopsy is critical to effective treat-
ment.
The important message to you is that if you see
change in your skin that appears abnormal, go to your
health care provider and have it checked immediately.
Some skin cancers can be difficult to diagnose by ap-
pearance alone. Skin cancer can often be diagnosed
by a simple in-office biopsy, if it is brought to your
health care provider’s attention early. Your health care
provider will know what to look for. Check your skin on
a regular basis, so you know it well enough to recog-
nize a change. Early detection is critical to successful
treatment. There are some excellent resources that
provide more detailed information on skin cancers, di-
agnosis and treatment. Remember the most important
thing that you can do is to prevent skin cancer from
developing by avoiding sun exposure and using sun
screen, as discussed in my last column. Be safe and
enjoy your summer!
Two reliable resources for information on skin can-
cers are; American Cancer Society at www.acs.org
and National Institutes of Health at www.nih.gov .
Choose correct canning guidelines
The food preservation sea-
son is here. Be prepared by
gathering up-to-date instruc-
tions for home canning. Al-
though other preservation
methods such as drying and
freezing may allow some room
for creativity, canning must be
done with precision.
Home-canned foods will be
safe to eat if you follow re-
search-based instructions ex-
actly. It’s especially important
to can low-acid foods (meat,
fish, poultry, non-pickled veg-
etables) correctly to avoid botu-
lism, a sometimes fatal food-
borne illness. A pressure can-
ner is needed to destroy the
bacterial spores.
Home-canning recommen-
dations are developed by re-
searchers in food science labo-
ratories. The type of canner
and length of processing time
needed are influenced by sev-
eral factors including the acidi-
ty of the food (or food mixture),
the way it’s prepared, and the
size of the jar.
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture has been the major
source of research-based
home-canning
instructions.
Their recommendations are
published in the Complete
Guide to Home Canning.
Copies of this publication may
be available for purchase at
your local county OSU Exten-
sion Office or to view, down-
load and print on the National
Center for Home Food Preser-
vation web site at http://www.
uga.edu/nchfp/publications/pu
blications_ usda.html .
Extension Services in Ore-
gon, Washington and Idaho
have included USDA canning
recommendations in their Pa-
cific Northwest food preserva-
tion publications, available at
your local county OSU Exten-
sion Office. Most of these are
also available online. To ac-
cess them, go to http://exten
sion.oregonstate.edu/fch/food-
preservation . Publications are
available on canning fruit, veg-
etables, tomatoes, salsa, meat
and poultry, seafood, and
smoked fish, as well as pickled
vegetables.
The current version of the
Blue Ball Book Guide to Pre-
serving is also based on USDA
recommendations. Only up-to-
date editions should be used
because home canning recom-
mendations have changed
through the years. USDA up-
dated their canning recommen-
dations in 1988 and revised
them in 2009.
Don’t assume that all home-
canning recommendations on
the Internet are safe. Be espe-
cially wary about personal web-
sites, recipe sites, and cooking
exchanges. They may not be
based on research.
Source: Carolyn Raab, OSU Ex-
tension Food and Nutrition Spe-
cialist
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