By Lauren Wanko
Correspondent
This time of year, the state’s coastline is covered with sand chairs. Beachgoer Lynne Pisano is ready for a little relaxation today, but not without a bag full of sun protection. She was diagnosed with skin cancer a few years ago.
“Now I’m really cautious about covering myself with lotion because when I was younger I didn’t care,” she said. When asked what went through her mind when she was told she had skin cancer, Pisano said, “I was a wreck, I was literally a wreck.”
“Skin cancer arises from many of the cells that make up our skin. Our skin is the largest organ in our bodies, several layers. Every layer has a population of cells that can transform into a cancer,” said Dr. John Gibbs, chief of surgical oncology at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
The Skin Cancer Foundation indicates each year, nationwide, nearly 5 million people are treated for skin cancer. One in five Americans will develop it in the course of a lifetime. According to the state Department of Health, in New Jersey there were 229 skin cancer deaths in 2011.
“The most common reason for developing skin cancer is excessive sun exposure,” Dr. Gibbs said.
Dr. Gibbs says worldwide Caucasians are most at risk, but all ethnicities can get it. There are many types of skin cancer, including melanoma — the most deadly.
“It has the pre-deposition to be able to spread to anywhere in the body,” Dr. Gibbs explained.
Dr. Gibbs recommends people avoid the sunlight from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., when the sun is the most intense. Apply sunblock every day 30 minutes before heading outside. It should be reapplied every two hours — even more if you’re sweating or swimming.
“The best way is to apply two tablespoons at least all over the body. The recommendation is an SPF of 15 or greater. Once you get beyond 15 you’re not getting that much more protection. If you get up to the higher SPF products, then you’re applying all those other chemicals that go with it onto your skin,” Dr. Gibbs said.
No stranger to sunscreen, Manasquan resident Molly McCauley walks every day — with a hat, long sleeves and sunglasses.
“I put it on in the morning. It’s in my moisturizer,” she said.
McCauley’s seen how dangerous the sun can be.
“I lost a very dear friend to melanoma and it was really sun exposure that did it,” she said.
Pisano’s cancer-free. Now she uses sunblock every day.