Unhealthy conditions may surprise you with your skin cancer risk

Summer is approaching, which means renewed concern about skin cancer and sun exposure. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in both men and women in the United States, and you might be surprised to learn which cases are at higher risk of developing the disease.

Although many people consider summer to be tanning season, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that people who live in states that are not known for their abundance of sun are actually more likely to develop skin cancer. Utah, Delaware, Vermont, Minnesota, and Idaho have the highest rates of skin cancer of any U.S. state, and their residents have a higher risk of skin cancer than residents of Florida, California, or Texas, according to the CDC.

Learn more about skin cancer.

Sunburn and other risk factors.

“Many high-risk states get intermittent sun exposure,” says Charles Komen Brown, MD, a medical director of surgery and a surgical oncologist at our Chicago hospital. “People who are not accustomed to regular sun exposure are at risk of sunburn when they encounter sunny days. Any sunburn exposes them to any type of skin cancer, including melanoma.”

Other risk factors for skin cancer include:

• Excessive exposure to ultraviolet light (from the sun or tanning beds)
• family history
• weak immune system
• Advanced age (although melanomas are also found in young adults)
• Multiple or unusual moles

There are three main types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 5 million basal cell and squamous cell skin carcinomas are diagnosed each year. It is estimated that 76,380 cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in 2016. Although basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer, most national cancer statistics only mention melanoma because central cancer registries typically do not track basal cell carcinomas. And squamous. .

People with fair skin are more likely to get sunburn and the cancer that sunburn often causes. In fact, skin cancer is 20 times more common in whites than in blacks, according to the ACS. But anyone can get the disease. “Skin cancer in African Americans is very rare in areas exposed to the sun,” says Dr. Brown. African Americans and Asians are more likely to develop skin cancer in areas not exposed to the sun, even under the fingernails and toenails, and even in the eyeball. If left untreated, it can spread to lymph nodes, blood vessels, and other organs.”

How can you reduce your risk?

One way to prevent skin cancer is to avoid exposure to the sun. “I think prevention is the most important treatment,” Dr. Brown adds. But for the many people who can’t avoid the sun completely, she recommends covering as much of your skin as possible, whether that’s wearing hats and long-sleeved shirts, high-protection sunscreen, or even zinc oxide sunscreen in areas. full of dangers.

If you are at risk of developing skin cancer, see your doctor for regular checkups and monitor your skin for any abnormal growths. Knowing the ABCs of skin cancer can help, so watch for moles or blemishes for these signs:

• l Symmetry: half of a mole is different from the other half.
• B Order: The edges are serrated, uneven, or warped.
• C Odor: The mole is uneven in color or has shades of brown, brown, and black.
• d Diameter: the width is greater than 6mm, or the size of a pencil eraser.
• I Lift and Evolution: A mole rises or changes appearance over time.

Finding skin cancer early can help expand treatment options. “It often makes it easier to fix a small problem, in the case of basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin,” says Dr. Brown. “In melanoma, it can allow treatment before the cancer has progressed to an advanced stage, which then carries a very high risk of metastasis.”

Learn more about skin cancer.