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Troubling news from overseas is calling attention to a health concern that's also becoming a greater threat in America.
Hi, I'm Dr. Cindy Haines, host of HealthDay TV.
The organization Cancer Research UK recently announced that the rates of men dying of melanoma have doubled in the past 30 years. More than 1,100 men in the United Kingdom died of the disease in 2008, compared to fewer than 400 annually in the late 1970s.
According to the National Cancer Institute, melanoma is diagnosed in more than 53,000 Americans each year, and it's become much more common here in the past 30 years, as well. This is the most serious type of skin cancer. It's more common in people with fair skin who sunburn easily. People who've had at least one blistering sunburn during childhood are also at higher risk.
Ways to protect yourself from harmful rays from the sun, according to the American Cancer Society, include:
* Wearing a hat, long sleeves, and sunglasses when you're out in the sun
* Applying broad-spectrum sunscreen generously to exposed skin before you go out in the sun, remembering to reapply frequently as appropriate
* And limiting your sun exposure during the middle of the day.
