Misconceptions about Black skin and skin cancer

Darker skin inherently protects someone from the sun and skin cancer.

As a dermatologist and skin cancer surgeon, Dr. Hugh Gloster looks at skin all day. While Black people are less likely to get the disease, they are more likely to die from it.

“We usually have 15 to 17 surgeries every day,” Gloster said.

Most of those surgeries involve people with lighter skin.

“People of color don’t get skin cancer as much. So, you know, I would say way less than less than 5%, probably closer to one to 2% of the time,” added Gloster, a dermatologist and skin cancer surgeon.

And while skin cancer in Black people is rare, the disparities are beyond skin deep.

Some misconceptions about darker-skinned folks include that “people of color don’t get skin cancer.”

“So they don’t go get screened, they don’t get checked, they don’t look at themselves,” Gloster said. “You know, there may be less accessibility to medical care for socio-economic reasons.”

Black people are more likely to die from skin cancer. According to a journal by the American Cancer Society, one in three Black people diagnosed with melanoma dies in the United States. It’s one in seven for white women and 11 for white men.

Why? Dr. Gloster said there are a lot of reasons. Skin cancer appears in unusual locations and is often missed by patients and their doctors.

“In darker skin races, it’s more likely to appear under the fingernails, soles and palms, in the mouth,” Gloster said. “So they’re not related to sun exposure. What they’re related to, nobody really knows. There are some theories, but you know, no firm evidence.”

And when a patient with darker skin finds skin cancer, typically, it’s at an advanced stage.

Take the legendary Bob Marley, for example.

He was diagnosed with the most common form of skin cancer found in people of color, acral lentiginous melanoma.

It showed up as a dark sport under his toenail.

“Those melanomas that appear on the hands and feet are just inherently more aggressive and grow faster,” Gloster said.

Another factor?

Some dermatologists don’t have the training to spot skin cancer in people of color.

“It’s important to be familiar with how, you know, different dermatologic conditions look in people of color, and not all programs will give you training in that,”

So if you spot a funny-looking bluish-black streak in your nail or a weird mole on the bottom of your foot, head to the dermatologist.

And yes, wear sunscreen.