Two interesting findings from a recent study published in
the Journal of Investigative Dermatology
about basal cell cancer, which is one of the two most common forms of skin
cancer (the other is squamous cell cancer) and which is usually described as a
“good cancer” because it doesn’t spread much as is usually easily treated with
just some localized surgery.
The first interesting finding is that basal cell cancer is
a “chronic” condition.
That is, if you have had one basal cell cancer, you are
likely to get others, meaning that once you’ve had a basal cell cancer, you
really need to be monitored regularly for the appearance of others.
The other interesting finding – and this is going to
affect lots of people – is that in this study at least, long with the
well-known risk factor of age (the older you are, the higher your risk of BCC),
the other key risk factors for the development of BCC were a history of having
been had “intense” sun exposure in childhood and early adulthood as well as a
history of eczema.
So if you’re a boomer whose had eczema, be on the lookout
for BCC, especially if like most boomers, you also got a lot of sun when you
were the age to be a sun god or goddess.
