9 Investigates risk of skin cancer in African-American community

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Doctors are trying to fight a dangerous myth in the African-American community: that people with darker skin tones aren't at risk for skin cancer.

The truth is that skin cancer can be more dangerous in African-American patients.

Chief meteorologist Steve Udelson, a four-time survivor of skin cancer, met two melanoma survivors who thought the color of their skin meant that they weren’t at risk.

Charlotte trainer Preston Lewis is so physically active that he wasn’t overly concerned when he noticed something on his heel.

“I saw a spot on my foot. I figured, I do training, I thought it was a bruise or something,” Lewis told Udelson.

Lewis’ wife told him not to ignore the spot.

“She was like, ‘You need to go to the doctor, get that checked. That's cancer,’” he said.

Lewis was shocked to learn that he had melanoma.

He underwent surgery to remove the cancerous spot from his heel, followed by skin grafting surgery.

“I didn't think I could get it,” Lewis said. “Having dark skin, I didn't think I could get it.”

Tonya Ardrey, a nurse, thought the same thing about herself.

She ignored a spot on her foot for more than a year.

The dermatologist for whom she worked finally convinced her to do something after he saw the spot.

“He said, ‘We need to take that off.’ And I was like, ‘We're not cutting anything off of me, I'm fine.’ And he said, ‘No, seriously, we need to cut that off,’” Ardrey told Udelson.

She too was surprised to learn that she had melanoma.

In the overall population, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the most common types of skin cancer.

But among African-Americans, the more dangerous melanoma is the most common type, according to Dr. Tonya McLeod of Piedmont Plastic Surgery and Dermatology.

“And when we do develop malignant melanoma, it is a specific type,” she said. “It's called acral lentiginous melanoma, and it's found on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.”

McLeod said genetics play a role in acral lentiginous melanoma, but she said sun safety is also important, and she said it isn’t stressed enough in many African-American families.

“Everyone, no matter what your skin type is, should wear sunscreen,” she said.

Preston Lewis said that when he was growing up, he was never encouraged to wear sunscreen.

“Nobody knew about sunscreen,” he said. “I had friends who knew about sunscreen, but they were white guys.”

Ardrey said some of her friends and family still don’t understand the danger.

“They hear that I had melanoma, but I don't think they understand the significance of what I'm saying when I say I had melanoma,” she said.

Ardrey considers herself lucky and wants others in the African-American community to take the threat of skin cancer seriously.

“You do have something to worry about, because the sun does not discriminate,” she said.

“It doesn't matter who you are, what color you are,” Lewis said. “Anybody can get it. No matter who you are -- white, black, Spanish, whatever -- doesn't matter about your race. Just protect yourself.”

Experts recommend a yearly exam by a dermatologist, as well as a monthly self-exam, looking closely for the ABCDEs of skin cancer:

• Asymmetrical moles or other skin spots
• Borders that are irregular
• Colors that are multiple, changing or unusual
• Diameter of more than 6 millimeters (wider than a pencil eraser head)
• Evolving – the spot is growing, changing or bleeding

More on acral lentiginous melanoma.

Statistics on skin color and skin cancer.

Cox Media Group