5 Ways to Prevent Skin Cancer — Page 3

Face facts: Your skin color won’t protect you from skin cancer.

It’s true that fair skinned people have an elevated risk for sunburn and many skin cancers. But no matter your skin tone, ability to tan, race, or ethnicity, you are in danger of skin cancer if you don’t protect yourself from excess sun and don’t use sunscreen with a SPF of 15 or higher.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer among African Americans and Asian Indians, and the second most common skin cancer in Hispanics, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Minorities are typically diagnosed at a more advanced stage of skin cancer and have lower chances of survival than caucasians.

"Our minority populations have this perception that they are at low risk and little can be done to prevent it. The reality is that skin cancer is a significant health concern for minorities,” said Henry Ford Hospital dermatologist Diane Jackson-Richards, MD.

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