With it being Melanoma Awareness Day in the U.S., I wanted to say a few words about the virtual event we are organizing on May 18th. Healthy Tuesdays will be dedicated to skin cancer and the effects of the sun. With the return of the warm weather, we will finally have the opportunity to get outside and expose ourselves to the sun. The urge to enjoy it a little too much will probably be present for some, and skin cancers will become an issue that we will unfortunately discuss a lot in the coming months.
With 2 million new cases per year in the USA, skin cancer is one of the most common cancers and as such cannot be ignored. A distinction must be made between carcinomas, which are relatively easy to treat, especially with surgery at the initial stage of the disease, and melanomas, which are much more dangerous.
The skin is made up of different layers: the epidermis, the dermis and the hypodermis. The roots of melanoma will go much deeper into the dermis than the roots of other cancers, increasing the risk of metastasis. Melanoma represents the majority of deaths from skin cancer.
The big debate, of course, is about the causes of melanoma. Officially, the main cause of this disease is the sun. The development of melanoma is indeed accelerated if you sunbathe irresponsibly, especially by sunbathing for hours on end. Â A burn or even simply damaged skin cannot defend itself well and eventually risks developing cancer.
But studies show that people who work outdoors and are exposed to the sun on a regular basis as part of their normal physical activity, statistically develop less melanoma than others.
The media keeps telling us that it is essential to put on sunscreen before going out and that we should put it back on every two hours, but it turns out that sunscreen could be a source of carcinogens. This information is now being repeated, even in the mainstream press. We must distinguish between the different types of sunscreens. There are chemical and natural (or physical) sunscreens. Natural sunscreens are made up of molecules such as zinc oxide or titanium dioxide that reflect the sun’s rays, while chemical molecules absorb UV rays.
Among these chemical molecules, we find octocrylene. Remember this name and look on the box before you buy your next sunscreen. This molecule tends to change over time or with heat. It degrades and turns into another molecule called benzophenone, which is a carcinogen. This is why you should avoid sunscreens based on chemical screen molecules.
The traditional treatments are chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy (which does not work very well. For this reason, it is often combined with anti-inflammatory drugs).
There are also natural alternatives. At the end of my book Winning The War On Cancer: The Epic Journey Towards a Natural Cure, you will find the suggested dosages by Dr. Christian Marcowith, a great friend of my father’s.
 Pao Pereira has a broad-spectrum anti-cancer activity and melanoma is among the cells that respond well
Rauwolfia Vomitoria is particularly effective for hormone-dependent tissues and the skin is a hormone-dependent tissue.
Green Teas (which was not known to be a potent anticancer agent in Dr. Marcowith’s time). According to recent studies conducted by The Beljanski Foundation, a specific blend of green teas identified by my father (OnkoTea) has been shown to be effective against different types of cancers, including breast cancer, bladder cancer and melanoma. Four lines of melanoma have been successfully tested.
I look forward to seeing you at the Healthy Tuesdays conference on melanoma and at this special event, you will get to hear directly from the researcher who is currently working on our Ginkgo/melanoma project as part of The Beljanski Foundation’s research programs.
~ Sylvie Beljanski