• Home

People with Lighter Skin Colour More Prone to Skin Cancer

“The first enemy of the skin is the sun. Though sunlight is important for the bones, overexposure can lead to melanoma or skin growths that can develop into cancer,” said Dr Anwar Al Hammadi, Dermatologist, Al Qasimi Hospital in Sharjah, who plans to introduce regular screening programmes for skin diseases at the hospital soon.

Dr Hammadi said people from the Western countries in the UAE should be extra careful about exposure. “The UAE is now home to people of several nationalities, while thousands of others are visiting the country during the summer months.”

“Those with red hair, blue eyes and, of course, a family history of the disease should take extra precautions,” he advised.

The doctor said people with a darker skin shade are at a lesser risk. “The white skin is Type 1 which burns easily while the brown skin falls under Type 2 which produces more melanin that helps protect the skin from the sun,” he explained, adding it does not mean that people with Type 2 do not have incidents of skin cancer.

Dr Hammadi, however, said there are no accurate statistics of occurrence of the disease in the region.

Early detection is the first treatment, he said. “Self-examination is important and as easy as ABCD.”

If you have (A) an asymmetrical, ugly-looking mole, (B) border of the mole is uneven, (C) colour of the mole is more than one, and (D) the diameter of the mole is more than 5cm, then the risk is higher, he said. He also advised people with more number of moles to go for examinations after every six months. “In case a life-threatening mole is found, a biopsy is performed or topical creams are advised. If it is very small, then a spray can also be used as a treatment,” he added. As preventive methods, Dr Hammdai advised a water-based sunscreen with SPF30, protective clothing, and staying indoors between 10am and 3pm.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE