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Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May is Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month. How can you tell if a mole is cancerous? Do you put on sunscreen every day? What is the best SPF number to use? We’ll speak with an expert about the best ways to prevent and detect skin cancer.
Guests:
Marianne Berwick – UNM distinguished professor with the Department of Internal Medicine and Dermatology
Kris Rhodes (Bad River Chippewa) – executive director of the American Indian Cancer Foundation
Break Music: Raw Intro (feat. DJ HeTook, Evie Mark & Taqralik Partridge) (song) RiverFlowz (artist) RiverFlowz Rural Recordings Atauciq (album)
This is a great way to highlight the issues surrounding skin cancer. However, Mary Ann has much of her science incorrect and perhaps someone else with more expertise should be giving factual knowledge, maybe even a dermatologist. For example, squamous cell carcinoma is more deadly in the U.S. because it is often left unchecked and can metastasize . Squamous cell carcinoma does not usually look pearly (basal cell does) — it can look like a scab or a non healing wound much of the time. Melanoma is not necessarily “deeper” in the skin, but we worry about it because it can metastasize. In fact, basal cell — as the name suggests — is in the most base layer of the skin. There is a genetic link to melanoma. Blistering sunburns are an independent risk factor for melanoma. Skin changes over time due to sun exposure, not just because we age. SPF 30 is recommended, not 15.
Please consider interviewing Dr. Holick or Dr. Cannell regarding the importance of vitamin D. Most Native Americans in Northern latitudes have some degree of deficiency, and many have severe deficiencies and do not know it. Vitamin D is critically important for the immune function for protection from everything from the common cold to cancer.