The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime, and an Indiana expert says early detection and prevention measures are critical to reducing a person’s risk.
Lawrence Mark, associate professor of clinical dermatology, Indiana University, is a dermatologist and researcher at the IU Simon Cancer Center. He says those with fair skin and lighter-colored hair and eyes are typically more prone to skin cancer, but adds that does not preclude those with darker complexions.
He lists other factors a person should think about when considering their own risk: “I used the tanning bed multiple times; I got multiple blistering, peeling sunburns; I have a family history of first-degree relatives with melanoma – you compound those all together, and you get higher and higher levels of risk.”
Mark says you can reduce your risk by limiting exposure to the sun by wearing a hat and long sleeves, and by using a sunscreen that protects against UV rays. He says you should also avoid being outside when the sun is at its strongest, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Mark adds that the sun should not be an enemy, because the body does need the vitamin D it helps to produce. However, he says, it doesn’t take much time outside to get it.
“Even if you are wearing sunscreen, you’re actually not blocking 100 percent of the sun’s rays when you do that. So if someone is out with sunscreen on, they’re still producing vitamin D, nonetheless,” he explains.
Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Mark says while it accounts for less than 5 percent of all cases of skin cancer, it results in the most deaths. His advice is to watch for changes in your skin.
“Look out for an ugly duckling. You may have some brown freckles, some rough spots here and there, but if you’ve got this thing, that is out of the ordinary – it’s not like the others, it’s just odd – that should be a sign to say, I should have somebody evaluate that,” he explains.
Another tip for detection is to consider the ‘A-B-C-D-Es,’ when noticing changes in spots on your skin: ”A’ for asymmetry; ‘B’ for the border; ‘C’ for color variability; ‘D’ for diameter; and ‘E’ for being evolving.
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