Melanoma is far more common in white men and women, but a new study from the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology shows that Black men are 26% more likely to die of the disease.
Dr. Franz Omar Smith says there’s a common misconception that Black people are immune to getting cancer. He says while chances for the disease are lower for Black people than for their white counterparts, cancer doesn’t discriminate.
“The risk is about 26 per 100,000 persons overall. For persons of color, the risk is about one and 100,000,” Dr. Smith said. “So, it’s significantly lower than the general population, however, we do know that when persons of color get melanoma in particular they get it on unusual locations. So, they tend to get a type of melanoma. We call Acral Lentiginous which is usually on the palms soles under the nail beds.”
Although only about 2.5% of the more than 200,000 men in the study were Black, they had a much lower survival rate than that of white men.
Doctors recommend, regardless of skin color, seeing a dermatologist at least once a year for a full body scan. Wearing sunscreen daily throughout the year is also recommended, both indoors and outdoors — as the skin reacts to both sunlight and the many lights sourced from electronic devices.
