Skin cancer numbers on the rise amid hot temps

REVERE, Mass. — Summer temps arrived on Thursday, a season for fun stuff, and something not so fun: skin cancer.

“I think it should be a concern for everybody...Anyone can get it,” said beachgoer Cindy Ogozalek.

The number of Americans getting melanoma is higher now than ever before.

“Busier than ever,” Dr. Abigail Waldman of Brigham and Women’s Hospital said. “We actually open Saturdays.”

She is a skin cancer specialist who says increased radiation is the cause for the higher number of cases.

“It’s thought to be more frequent because of climate change,” she said. “Because of increased UV radiation.”

Doctors divide skin cancer into two categories.

Non-melanoma skin cancers are generally less severe, but diagnoses are way up, with 90% of cases linked to sun exposure. Sunblock reduces the risk of these cancers, which are curable if caught early.

Most melanomas are also linked to sun exposure, with cases and deaths continuing to rise. But melanomas, which can spread and kill are also curable if caught early.

In fact, the 5-year survival rate for melanoma caught early is around 99 percent, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. And there’s something you can do to dramatically reduce the risk of ever getting melanoma.

And that is to avoid getting a sunburn....ever.

“Even one blistering sunburn increases your chances of developing melanoma by 100 percent,” Dr. Waldman says.

And that’s where sunblock comes in.

“It’s one that’s just cruelty-free and vegan and it was the highest one at CVS,” said Alex Delgado, speaking of his sunblock.

SPF counts, to an extent, but applying sunscreen properly is key.

But sunblock can’t go everywhere.

“It’s very common actually to see skin cancers, particularly in what we call the medial canthus, that area between the eyes and nose,” Dr. Waldman said.

Skin cancer can develop inside the ears, the soles of the feet, and even fingernails.

As for spotting those cancers, experts say seeing a dermatologist at least once a year goes a long way.

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