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"Sometimes Latinas like myself and other women of color have this false perception that we aren't at risk for skin cancer, when in fact, the rate of melanoma is actually increasing for us and can be more deadly," said actress, philanthropist and L'Oreal Paris spokesperson Eva Longoria. "We all need to wear sunscreen daily, get our skin checked regularly and be aware of the signs."
Some of the key findings from the survey include:
-- Women lack information about melanoma and want to know more -- 95% percent of American women who have heard of melanoma know that it first affects the skin, but for many, the knowledge stops there. -- Of those women who know of melanoma, far fewer know that not reapplying sunscreen every two hours (54%) or having freckles or moles (54%) could put someone at a higher risk for the disease. -- Less than three in ten (28%) American women believe it's possible they could develop melanoma in their lifetimes; this belief is even lower among African-American (7%) and Hispanic (16%) women. -- While fewer than three in ten (28%) American women who are aware of the disease believe they have a chance of developing it, almost one in four (23%) stress that they would like to know more about it. -- Women know they should wear sunscreen, but don't -- Lack of sunscreen use is likely why many American women give themselves failing sun care grades. A third (33%) of those who think they would earn a C or worse admit they rarely, if ever, wear sunscreen, versus 7 percent of those who would grade themselves better. -- 21% of US women, 17% of Hispanic women and 37% of African-American women never or rarely wear sunscreen. -- Almost half (46% of US women, 46% of Hispanic women and 36% of African-American women polled) only wear sunscreen when they know they'll be in the sun for a long time. -- Less than one in ten (9%) American women wear sunscreen daily and reapply it every few hours. -- An alarming percentage of American women don't take steps to check their skin for melanoma -- A minority (30 percent of American women, 15% of Hispanics and 19% African Americans) regularly give themselves skin exams. -- 86% of US women would NOT recognize a melanoma on themselves. -- Only 11% of American women regularly see a dermatologist. -- 88% of US women, 89% of Hispanic women and a shocking 96% of African American women have not had any kind of dialogue with a doctor about melanoma.
L'Oreal Paris-MRA Team Science Award to Fund Research on Melanoma Drivers
The L'Oreal Paris MRA Team Award will be awarded to researchers from the prestigious Wistar Institute and University of Pennsylvania in the United States, Oslo University Hospital in Norway and Leeds University in the United Kingdom. The research will be led by Meenhard Herlyn D.V.M., D.Sc. from the Wistar Institute, whose laboratory focuses on the biology that underlies melanoma.
The dynamic team of researchers will take an in depth look into the drivers of melanoma susceptibility, development and progression to help lead to prevention and therapy for the disease. People with genetically determined phenotypes such as light skin color which tans poorly, red hair, blue eyes or many moles are generally considered more susceptible to melanoma compared to those with none of these attributes. However, the fact that only a few of these individuals contract the disease suggests that environmental traits may also play a major role in susceptibility.
