Protect Your Skin From Cancer

Your race affects where you might spot it-and when.

- VICTORIA KIRBY

BEAUTY

Summer is just about upon us, bringing with it lots of opportunities to be exposed to the-sun-and its dangers. That makes now a terrific time to book your annual skin cancer screening. New cases of invasive melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, have gone up 31% since 2012.

"Melanoma tends to be diagnosed at a later stage in people of color, which often means a worse prognosis," says Elizabeth Hale, M.D., senior vice president of the Skin Cancer Foundation and a clinical associate professor of dermatology at New York University Langone Medical Center. "For people of color, melanoma often appears on areas of the body that don't get much sun exposure, so any skin changes may go unnoticed for some time." This contributes to an alarming disparity in melanoma five-year survival rates: 93% for non-Hispanic white individuals compared with just 71% for African Americans. Research shows that race and ethnicity play a role in where people may be more likely to develop melanoma too, so knowing your risk areas can be key to early detection. Here's the latest information from the Skin Cancer Foundation for those of a variety of races.

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