Idahoans At High Risk For Skin Cancer, Experts Warn

If you knew you were going to be diagnosed with a deadly skin cancer at the age of 40, would you still go tanning at the age of 18?
That’s the question Dr. Lindsay Sewell, a dermatologist at High Valley Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery in Idaho Falls, wants to ask today’s teens. Every day he sees more people younger than 30 being diagnosed with melanoma.
“(Other cancers), such as breast cancer, are second (to skin cancer),” Sewell said. “Idaho has one of the highest rates of melanoma in the country.”
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., with melanoma being the deadliest type. Melanoma typically appears as a new mole or through an existing mole on the skin.
Sewell said Idahoans are at high risk for skin cancer because of the accessibility to indoor tanning beds coupled with a variety of outdoor recreational activities. Too often, he said, people fail to protect their skin with sunblock and/or clothing, subjecting them to radiation from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
According to the Mayo Clinic, those with fair skin and/or those living in high-altitude areas are more susceptible to skin cancer.
Dr. Daniel Siegel, president of the American Academy of Dermatology, told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the U.S. is in the midst of a skin cancer epidemic, saying “young people are ignoring all the warnings about the

You can read the rest of this article on Post Register: Idahoans At High Risk For Skin Cancer, Experts Warn