SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) -The American Cancer Society reported a slight increase in melanoma diagnoses across Missouri and Arkansas.

New cases of melanoma rose 2-3% annually between 2015 and 2019, and doctors with Mercy say melanoma has increased about 30% just in the last 10 years.

The majority of those cases are in people 50 and older.

“Sun worshiping, if you want to call it that, kind of started 20, 30, 40, years ago or little longer, and now those people are have been exposed long enough that their incidence is increasing,” Dr. David Barbe explained. He’s the Regional Physician Executive with Mercy Primary Care.

Dr. Barbe says people who have five major sunburns during their life are more than twice as likely to get melanoma compared to someone without extreme sun exposure.

Unlike more common types of skin cancer, like basal cell, melanoma is aggressive and hard to treat after spreading.

“it’s very insidious, and it can spread quickly and it’s very unpredictable,” Dr. Abe Abdalla, the medical director of Oncology at CoxHealth, explained, “do not mix melanoma with other less aggressive cancers of the skin, such as basal cell or squamous cell. Melanoma is a whole new animal and needs to be taken very seriously.”

The American Cancer Society reports melanoma accounts for only about 1% of skin cancers, but it’s responsible for the large majority of skin cancer deaths.

The key is to catch it early. Consistently checking for irregular spots, or moles changing shape or color, can greatly increase your chance of survival.

In addition to screening, prevention is just as important.

The best way to prevent it is blocking the sun through SPF or long sleeves and wide-brimmed hats.

Doctors recommend at least 30 SPF, and reapplication every hour. While Dr. Barbe and Dr. Abdalla say spray is ok, others disagree.

“Just on a practical note, I just watched the SPF go in the air. It’s not good coverage,” April Wilkie said. She’s the owner of Healing Hands Skin Therapy in Springfield.

She’s been in the skin care industry for almost 30 years and says aerosol sunscreen can contain carcinogenic ingredients. These are known to cause other types of cancer.

“I recommend a shot glass if you can visualize that of SPF for your body, a teaspoon for your face,” Wilkie urged.

Not all sunscreens are created equally. Ideally, you want a broad or full spectrum SPF to protect your skin against UVA and UVB light.

Out of all of her patients, Wilkie notices men and children struggle the most with wearing and reapplying sunscreen. Many complain it’s greasy, but she says that has more to do with ingredients rather than SPF as a whole.

Many women, on the other hand, rely on makeup with SPF to take care of their skin. While that’s not a bad practice, it’s not enough to last you all day.

“Unless you reapply or you add additional formal sunscreen later in the day, it simply won’t last all day,” Dr. Abdalla said.

However, Wilkie says there are other options.

“I literally have a powder that you can brush on physically. Even my clients with the most sensitive skin have had luck with that,” Wilkie recommended.

If you decide to avoid the sun and choose the tanning bed to avoid UV exposure, think again.

“Exposure can damage your skin and increase your chances of melanoma by 75% and I know when we’re young, we think that’s not going to happen to me,” Wilkie said.

“They were thought to be safer than direct exposure to the sun, and that is not the case. We do not recommend the use of tanning beds,” Dr. Barbe explained.

The bottom line is: protect your skin. Skin cancer can begin at any age, but is more likely the more you’re in direct sunlight over time.

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