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Driving behind the wheel could cause skin cancer

Posted: May 26, 2010 5:47 PM
Updated: May 26, 2010 5:47 PM

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TUCSON - The next time you're on the road you might want to have some sunscreen handy. A new study done by the American Academy of Dermatology states your chances of getting skin cancer could increase just by driving in your car.

Experts at the Arizona Cancer Center said, research released this year shows there are more skin cancers occuring on the left side of the body instead of the right side while driving.

"People are typically sitting with their arm on the left side which is going to be exposed not even in the morning, but as the sun rises there will still be that light hitting this exposed area," said Dr. Lee Cranmer.

Experts say drivers, especially men, are exposed to ultra violet rays which are strong enough to even penetrate through window glass.

"Your basically exposing your arm to a carcinogen which is ultra violet light. And if you do it long enough it could lead to a sunburn, ultimately it can lead to skin cancer," said Cranmer.

And this new research has some drivers surprised and others pretty concerned.

"Its news to me, I guess I better start sun blocking my left side," said Dan Connolly.

"I wear sunglasses for my eyes, unfortunately for my skin i really don't do much. I don't think about it probably should," said Sunjay Tuli.

But some aren't buying it.

"Thats kind of hard for me to believe but if that's what the research shows then there's something to it. I just have a hard time believing that," said Greg Kiviko.

Physicians suggest as temperatures rise, the best way to protect your self while on the road is cover up or wear a lot of sunscreen.

"For anybody that doesn't believe ultra violet light exposure causes cancer this is pretty good evidence that it does," said Cranmer.

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