Question: I am a 40-year-old man who had a melanoma removed last year. Short of staying away from the sun altogether, what sort of precautions should I be taking to make sure I do not have any followers sprouting up?
Answer: Everyone should be protecting their skin from the sun using a physical block-type of sun protection. This would be products that have zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in them. These completely block the UV rays, both UVA and UVB, and these products do not degrade in the sunlight like other products can. Unfortunately, melanoma is a rather unusual skin cancer due to the fact there is some who believe that there are other factors involved in causing a melanoma other than the UV radiation from the sun. In fact, many feel that some of the other wave lengths that are even in visible light can put someone at increased risk of a melanoma. For now though, we do recommend a good physical block when you are outside, whether you are in direct sun or not. Other helpful things are wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses and wearing clothing to protect the remainder of your body.