MOBILE, Ala. — Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, and while melanoma makes up only about 1 percent of skin cancer cases, it causes a large share of skin cancer deaths. On the Gulf Coast, where sun exposure is a daily fact of life, local dermatologists say protection needs to start early.
“We probably see at least 50 skin cancers a week if not more, and I would not be surprised if we see new patients with melanoma at least once or twice a week,” said Dr. Amy Morris, a board-certified dermatologist with The Center for Dermatology.
Some people face higher risk. “Fair skin and blue eyes [mean] we cannot protect our skin as well as those with pigment in their skin, and when you get a tan, any time your skin is darkening, that’s actually showing damage to your skin,” Morris said.
Melanoma is more than 20 times more common in white Americans than in African Americans, but darker-skinned people are not immune. “African Americans can get skin cancer, although rarer than those that are fair skinned. Bob Marley actually had melanoma and died of malignant melanoma at the age of 36,” Morris said.
Rising among younger adults
The disease is increasingly showing up in younger people. Morris told reporter Cherish Lombard that melanoma is the most common cancer in adults ages 25 to 29, and that it is rising among women 15 to 29 — likely tied to tanning bed use. “There’s no such thing as a ‘healthy tan,’” she said.
Morris recommended sun-protective clothing such as rash guards, sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats for children, and making broad-spectrum sunscreen a daily habit. She noted that ordinary activities — driving, shopping, talking with neighbors outside — add up to cumulative exposure. “The skin is kind of like an elephant and it doesn’t forget any of the exposure,” she said.
Having five sunburns in a lifetime more than doubles the risk of developing melanoma as an adult, according to Morris.