Can Age Spots Be Cancerous?

Age spots can affect one’s self confidence. Another concern is whether these age spots can cause cancer. But before jumping to conclusions, you have to know some basic things about age spots and skin cancer, and see how they are related to each other.

Age spots, also called sun spots are prevalent when one ages. Those parts of the skin which takes in too much sunlight are more affected. It can be concluded that aging is not only the cause when it comes to developing age spots. It happens that damaged melanocytes (the cells which gives us our skin pigment) accumulate together, thus forming these pigmented spots on skin.

On the other hand, skin cancer is cause by different reasons. Some of these factors consists of unhealthy lifestyle, and working in a skin-corrosive environment. It could also be because it is inherent in your family. The skin cells have different types so the type of skin cancer is established by this. Since they concern the melanocytes, squamous cells and basal cells, these cancers are named after them. There are other skin cancers out there, but these three are the most common.

Can cancer arise from age spots? The answer is, it could, since UV radiation that destructs skin cells can be carcinogenic. It could be probable if age spots are ignored and they become worse because of ignorance.

The risk of dying from skin cancer is small but only if it left untreated.  Skin cancer symptoms include non healing lesions and moles that grow, change in color or shape. You should watch out for those moles that have irregular borders and changing colors. Sometimes, age spots hinder the detection of melanoma, so it is sometimes associated to skin cancer.

So what can you do to stop skin cancer, and avoiding age spots from obscuring melanoma? The best thing you can do is abstain from too much sunlight. The UV rays of the sun are at their strongest during noontime, so try not to go out during those times. If you have your age spots removed, your risks are lowered. If you rub on sunscreen, your risks are lowered too. Bringing an umbrella is a wise move. Prevention of age spots and ultimately skin cancer is far better that the cure.

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