As a person of color, you might question whether skin cancer ought to be one of your top health concerns. If you’re African-American, you may not even think you can getskin cancer. But you’d be surprised.
“Anyone can get skin cancer,” says Lisa Chipps, MD, director of dermatologic surgery at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. It is less common in people of color, but it’s often more serious. That’s because it’s usually found later, when it’s harder to treat.
If you know what to look for and how to protect yourself, you can prevent it or catch it early.
Skin Color and Skin Cancer
The three most common skin cancers are:
Getting too much ultraviolet (UV) light is linked to all of these cancers. But it is just one cause and may not even be a factor in melanoma in people of color. Some other things that can raise your risk of skin cancer are:
- Skin conditions that lead to scarring or chronic swelling and redness, like discoid lupus
- Radiation therapy
- An infection that doesn’t heal
- Injury, such as a bad bruise or burn
- Having moles, especially on the palms, soles of your feet, and mouth
Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Among people of color, African-Americans or Asian-Indians are more likely to get this type of cancer.
It’s usually curable, but it’s often more serious in African-Americans. It can spread to your lymph nodes, which are part of your immune system, and organs.
If you’re African-American, it’s most likely to show up in your legs, bottom, or private parts.
Basal Cell Carcinoma
This skin cancer is more common in Hispanic, Chinese, and Japanese people than in African-Americans. It’s strongly linked to too much sun.
It grows slowly and is very unlikely to spread to other parts of your body. In brown skin, it’s most likely to show up on the head or neck.
Melanoma
The skin cancer that killed reggae legend Bob Marley, this is less common but also more deadly, especially in African-Americans. About 52% of African-Americans and 26% of Hispanics find out they have it when it has already spread, compared with16% of white people. “By that time, the survival rate is usually much worse,” says Brian Johnson, MD, a dermatologic surgeon in Norfolk, VA, and a spokesman for the Skin Cancer Foundation.