A substance that helps protect the skin from the sun's harmful rays. Using lotions, creams, or gels that contain sunscreens can help protect the skin from premature skin aging and damage that may lead to skin cancer. A procedure to remove or repair a part of the body or to find out if disease is present. Treatment with anticancer drugs in a lotion or cream applied on the skin. An abnormal mass of tissue that results from excessive cell division.
Tumors perform no useful body function.
UV radiation can damage the skin and cause melanoma and other types of skin cancer. UV radiation that reaches the earth's surface is made up of two types of rays, called UVA and UVB rays. UVB rays are more likely than UVA rays to cause sunburn, but UVA rays pass deeper into the skin. Scientists have long thought that UVB radiation can cause melanoma and other types of skin cancer. They now think that UVA radiation also may add to skin damage that can lead to skin cancer and cause premature skin aging.