Skin Color Has Nothing to do With Immunity to Melanoma

Recently a medical myth has been debunked. It has long been believed that those with darker skin had an immunity to melanoma, but this has been proven to not be true. In fact, in recent data collected in Florida, it has been shown that those with darker skin have had 20 to 60 percent higher rates of melanoma than those in other parts of the country.

This research means that getting melanoma may have far less to do with your skin color, and a lot more to do with the area where you live. In fact, it is believed that climate may have a lot to do with this. The exact cause of melanoma cannot be determined but leading research now believes that it may have a lot to do with UV radiation. The more you get, the more likely you are to have melanoma. Evidence linking artificial UV exposure to both malignant melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer has been scientifically proven. Although educating people of the harmful effects has become more widespread over the past decade, the use of indoor tanning beds is more popular than ever, particularly among young adults.

Statistically, skin cancer remains much rarer among blacks and Hispanics than among whites, which helps explain why public health efforts to prevent melanoma chiefly target the light-skinned among us.

Although this study does not set in stone the causes of melanoma, it still does away with a dangerous myth that had existed. If the myth was believed, then minorities might have gone on with their lives thinking that they were completely safe from this illness. Luckily, this research is now available, so they do not have to face the risk of not knowing now.