by Michele Catahay, KUAM News Tuesday, May 13, 2008 Subscribe to Michele's newsfeed   E-mail this article Printable version KUAM Toolbar Web Widgets Get RSS headlines

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While most of us want to enjoy our sunny weekends and afternoons by going to the beach or even taking part in outdoor physical activities, often times it's easy to forget to protect our skin from the sun. If you aren't cautious about it, you may get skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, this type of cancer is the most common of all cancers, accounting for nearly half of all cancers in the United States.

It's a cause for concern for many, like beachgoers Jason Northway and Ray White. Northway said, "With global warming and all the things that are changing, I think we need to be aware of ourselves now than before," with White adding, "Me personally, I like to wear sun block because I have a lot of tattoos and that protects the tattoos. But besides that, sunburn isn't a fun thing to have."

If you're curious about signs and symptoms of skin cancer, you may want to take note. Symptoms include:

- Change of the skin. It could be in size or color of a mole or other new growths or spots
- Scaliness, oozing or bleeding in the appearance of a bump
- The spread of pigmentation such as dark coloring that spreads past the edge of a mole or mark
- A change in sensation, itchiness, tenderness or even pain

If you're out between 10am to 4pm, you definitely need to protect yourself. Try to stay in shady areas. Use clothing to cover as much skin as possible when you're out in the sun. Wear sunscreen with SPF of 15 or higher, and wear a hat and sunglasses to protect your eyes. Meanwhile, people like John Sapeymai say they wear sunblock and long-sleeved clothing to protect their skin from the sun. Sapeymai works for a local dive company and remains outdoors for most of the day. "Right now, the heat in Guam is really hot, so I'd advise all people going to the beach or anywhere out in the ocean to please start protecting themselves by wearing the rash guards and using the sunblock," he said.

Risk factors for skin cancer include excessive exposure to UV rays, fair complexion, occupational exposure to coal tar, pitch or radium and family history could be a factor as well as whether you're received severe sunburns as a child.

For more information about skin cancer, log on Cancer.org.