Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer

As the most common cancer diagnosis in the United States, skin cancer is not a mystery. Health care providers know more about skin cancer causes, risk factors, warning signs, complications, treatment, and prevention than ever before. 

Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop the widespread proliferation of myths and misconceptions surrounding skin cancer, especially among adolescents and young adults who get exposed to a deluge of misinformation on social media platforms.  

As board-certified dermatologists specializing in skin cancer prevention, detection, and care, our team at Florida Dermatology Associates knows that these fallacies aren’t just misleading; they’re dangerous. Here, we debunk six common skin cancer myths. 

1. Only fair-skinned people get skin cancer

Fact: Skin cancer can affect anyone with dark or light brown skin that rarely burns. While fair-skinned people have an increased risk of developing skin cancer — and those with darker skin have a comparatively lower risk — no one is immune to skin cancer. 

This pervasive misconception has a serious downside: Skin cancer mortality rates are highest among people with darker skin tones, who are less likely to think about the disease or know about its early warning signs.   

2. Skin cancer does not affect young people

Fact: While it’s true that most skin cancer cases occur in middle-aged and older adults as a result of cumulative, lifetime exposure to the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) light rays, skin cancer can happen at any age. 

While children account for a small percentage of skin cancer cases, melanoma — the most aggressive form of skin cancer — becomes more common in late adolescence, especially among girls. After thyroid cancer, melanoma ranks as the second most common cancer among young adults of both genders aged 20-39 years old. 

3. A base tan acts like a layer of protection 

Fact: There’s no such thing as a healthy suntan — any UV-induced change in your natural skin tone is a sign of skin damage. When you head outdoors to get a “base tan,” your skin responds to UV exposure by ramping up its melanin production, the skin cells that give your skin its color and help protect against UV damage. 

Your skin may darken up to 48 hours after your “controlled” tanning session. This “base tan” is your skin’s attempt to protect itself from further damage. 

Tanning begins when your skin cells sense they’re getting damaged by UV light. Your skin gets more color, even if it’s just a “base layer,” at the expense of your health: Every time your skin tone changes after UV exposure, your skin cancer risk increases. 

4. Staying hydrated can prevent sunburn

Fact: Proper hydration supports healthy skin but does nothing to shield your skin cells from UV damage. What does? Apply sunscreen, avoid sun exposure between 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, stay in the shade when possible, and wear protective clothing.  

Without these protections, your skin cells must rush to their defense from sun exposure, producing more melanin (and a tan) to guard against additional damage. A sunburn occurs when intense or continuing UV light exposure overwhelms your skin’s defenses, leaving it severely damaged and inflamed.

Having five or more sunburns in your lifetime doubles your risk of developing melanoma. 

5. Sunscreen is more harmful than UV rays

Fact: UV radiation is a proven human carcinogen; broad-spectrum sunscreens with an SPF of 30 or higher are proven to protect against UVA/UVB damage by blocking or absorbing this light and deflecting it away from your skin. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates sunscreen as an OTC drug and has deemed chemical and mineral sunscreen products safe and beneficial. However, if you don’t like applying a UV-absorbing chemical sunscreen, you can stick with a simple UV-blocking mineral sunscreen made with zinc or titanium oxide.

6. A tanning bed is safer than sun exposure 

Fact: Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only do tanning beds emit the same harmful UV radiation as the sun, but they emit this damaging light at far more concentrated levels. Specifically, tanning beds emit 10-15 times more UV radiation than how much the sun emits at peak intensity daily.

Tanning bed use is responsible for 419,000 new skin cancer cases every year in the US. Any tanning bed use history, even a very brief one, significantly increases your skin cancer risk; indeed, more people develop skin cancer because of tanning bed use than develop lung cancer because of smoking.    

Your partner in skin cancer prevention 

Skin cancer prevention starts with knowing the facts about this common disease — and seeing our team for regular skin cancer screenings. Call or click online to schedule a visit at Florida Dermatology Associates in Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Cocoa, Melbourne, Titusville, or Rockledge, Florida, today.