Monday, Jan 04th 2010

New Year's (Beauty) Resolution: Schedule Your First Skin Cancer Screening

I've never really been much of New Year's resolution-maker (I'm more of a goal-setter) but this year I'm willing to make an exception. 

In honor of the New Year, I've resolved to schedule my first skin cancer screening and I hope you do the same. To make the process as stress-free and easy as possible, I'm going to designate a month for an annual appointment with my dermatologist, and book checkups now for the next two years. 

Not sure if you have the time to make an appointment or if it's worth the effort? Did you know that skin cancer is the most common type of cancer? It is and, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), it probably makes up more than half of all diagnosed cases of cancer. More than one million cases of non-melanoma are diagnosed each year, leading to about 2,000 deaths. We know early detection can save lives but most of us don't know our risk level (I don't) or have had a head-to-toe skin check (I haven't).

Learn more about Skin Cancer and Skin Health. If you weigh the pros and cons of getting a skin cancer screening I'm confident you'll be booking your appointment soon too. Oh, and if haven't already: Resolve to quit smoking (or convince a friend to). Besides the many health hazards, smoking accelerates the presence of fine lines and wrinkles.

Do you have any beauty-related resolutions you would like to share?