Melanoma Cancer Risks & Environmental Air Pollution
Health Effects
How seriously do you take skin cancer? The answer to that question might depend on your age, race, sex and where you live, and all of these factors determine your risk. The older you are and the paler your skin, the higher your chances are of being diagnosed with skin cancer.
Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the world, and melanoma is the most dangerous kind of skin cancer. It affects about 2 percent of people during their lifetime on average, and as the population reduces smoking skin cancer rates are going up for an unexpected reason - smoking suppresses melanoma incidences. Unlike basal and squamous cell carcinomas, melanoma of the skin starts deeper within the skin and spreads quickly unless removed.
Even though sun exposure plays a big part, the sunniest places in America are not the places with the highest overall incidences of melanoma. Indeed, the state-by-state statistics may surprise you. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the highest rates of melanoma are in some of the cloudiest states, like Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. Since melanoma risk is expected to increase with sun exposure, why do some of the cloudiest states have the highest melanoma rates? The answer lies in the racial composition of each state. This is because light skinned (white) people are diagnosed with skin cancer about 40 times more than Asians and blacks and Hispanics.
When it comes to developing melanoma, the biggest risk factors are color of skin and sun exposure followed by sex. Our study shows sun exposure explains 80% and organic air toxics 20% of light skinned (white) men melanoma incidences. The sunniest places in America are the places with the highest incidences of light skinned men melanoma incidences. Even though white people develop melanoma more easily, nobody is immune. If you are sensitive to cancer, you need to be aware of these facts and take steps to protect your health.
For more information on the health effects of common air toxics, write us at RyanPatrick@stanleygroup.com for our cancer fact studies.
