The risk of melanoma in a white person is ten times as high as it is for a black person. White men and women have a 1 in 50 chance of being diagnosed, while a black man or woman have a 1 in 1,000 chance, and Hispanics have a 1 in 200 chance. Melanoma, unlike the other skin cancers, has no age discrimination. It has been seen in people younger than 30 years of age, but it does increase with age. There are many different risk factors for melanoma, which is why it has no age discrimination. Though a person has many risk factors, does not mean that they will end up getting cancer, and vise-versa, if a person has little or no risk factors, that does not mean that they will never be diagnosed. Risk factors for melanoma include; sun exposure, moles, fair skin, freckles, light hair color, a family history of melanoma, a personal history with melanoma, immune suppression, age, gender, and Xeroderma Pigmentosum …show more content…
The UV radiation can damage genes making the risk higher for a melanoma. Tanning beds are also a source that gives off a considerable amount of UV radiation. UV is divided into three categories, which include, UVA rays, which are linked to skin damage, wrinkles, and skin cancers. UVB rays, the second UV is known to cause sunburns and skin cancer. Finally, there is the UVC rays, which do not penetrate the earth’s atmosphere, and are not a risk factor for skin cancer. Skin cancer appears when the UV radiation damages the DNA making it unable to control skin cell