The Dark Side of the Sun

As the number of hours of sunlight dwindle, few people are thinking about the damage that the sun can inflict upon the skin. Truth be told, we need to worry about sun even in the winter. The incidence of melanoma of the skin, the most commonly fatal form of skin cancer, is increasing faster than any other potentially preventable cancer in the United States. Five-year survival rates for people with melanoma depend upon the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. Survival rates decline steadily as the tumor thickness and disease stage increase. Most people with thin stage I lesions can expect prolonged disease-free survival and even cure, while those with thicker, later stage lesions (eg, >2.0 mm) are more likely to die from metastatic disease.

Practice Safe Sun is the message of Mollie Fund, an organization dedicated to increasing melanoma prevention. The excellent website has tips on self-examination, a video on the “Dark Side of the Sun” as well as a link for iPhone and Android.