{"id":108564,"date":"2022-05-19T18:56:39","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T01:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=108564"},"modified":"2022-05-19T18:56:55","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T01:56:55","slug":"op-ed-important-advice-for-people-of-color","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2022\/05\/19\/op-ed-important-advice-for-people-of-color\/","title":{"rendered":"Op-ed: Important advice for people of color"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Terry Kanakri<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

With Memorial Day\u00a0weekend\u00a0approaching, and many people looking forward to spending more time outdoors walking, biking, hiking, camping and swimming,\u00a0we cannot forget an important fact: too much ultraviolet radiation exposure from the sun is hazardous to your health.<\/p>\n

Indeed, it can cause skin cancer, a potentially deadly disease that afflicts\u00a0approximately 9,500 people in the U.S. each day.<\/p>\n

People of all ethnic groups are vulnerable to getting skin cancer, including people of color, many of whom wrongly think they are immune to skin cancer due to their dark skin. In addition, a 2016\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology\u00a0<\/em>noted that melanoma, a form of skin cancer that affects all ethnic groups, is more frequently detected in later stages in Black men and women than in any other ethnic group. This can lead to a worse skin cancer prognosis and higher mortality rates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is true that people with black or brown skin may have more tolerance for direct sun light and are less likely to get skin cancer, but they are definitely not immune,\u201d said\u00a0Dr. Linda Tolbert, regional chief of dermatology at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, who is African American. \u201c Anyone can get skin cancer, so it\u2019s smart for all of us to protect our skin from UV radiation to lessen the risk, including people of color.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Current estimates are that\u00a0one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.<\/p>\n

Though people of color are less likely to become afflicted with skin cancer, they are much more likely to die from it due to delay in detection or presentation, according to the National Library of Medicine. Very often, skin cancer is diagnosed at a more advanced stage in people of color, making treatment more difficult.<\/p>\n

One of the best ways for everyone to protect your skin when outdoors is using sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher, and it should be regularly reapplied. This includes every 1-2 hours when in the water or when sweating, Dr. Tolbert noted.<\/p>\n

Additionally, there are other steps you should take to protect your skin. They include:<\/p>\n