Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Blue-Eyed People May Face Higher Melanoma Risk


      Melanoma is a form of skin cancer that when exposed to the sun for too long, can become a very deadly form of cancer. Those with blue eyes or red hair are unfortunately more prone to getting moles which is the precursor for melanoma. Neil Box an assistant professor at the University of Colorado, in Denver, said "if you modify the behaviors related to sun exposure in children, it will probably make a difference for their well-being in later life with respect to melanoma." During the years of 2004-2008 researchers followed 477 white children between the ages of 6-10 around, and gathered DNA samples and provided information on their sun exposure. They found that with an increase in sun exposure the number of freckles and moles increased each year as well. Children in this study with blue eyes had a tendency to develop more moles than the average child, whereas children with red hair had a tendency to develop larger moles than the average child. Since children with pre-developed moles have a higher risk of getting melanoma it is imperative that those with blue eyes, and those with red hair protect their skin throughout their whole life. In my opinion, melanoma is not something you want to be diagnosed with. I think it is important that everyone protects their skin, especially those with lighter skin, blue eyes, and red hair. 


Original Link: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2014/11/19/blue-eyed-people-may-face-higher-melanoma-risk
Related Link: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/melanoma

3 comments:

  1. I think this article is highly interesting and relevant, as many people are obsessed with being tan nowadays. Though I don't have blue eyes, I'm very fair-skinned and tend to burn easily. I definitely have noticed that I develop freckles in the summer, especially on my face, from being in the sun. This article reinstates the notion that fair-skinned people are at extremely high risk for skin diseases.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I found this article to be very important. I have blue eyes and I do like to tan a lot. It's scary to think that because of the color of my eyes I could be more at risk for getting melanoma. I also get freckles when exposed to a lot of sun light. This article makes it me want to protect my skin much more from sun exposure to prevent melanoma.

    ReplyDelete
  3. when I was younger I would rarely put on sun screen and because I am very pale I would burn and developed freckles. As I aged I became more aware of the dangers of the sun and began to protect my skin in order to prevent such things as skin cancer. This article was interesting and I am glad I have learned the errors of my ways.

    ReplyDelete