What City Tops the 'Sun Smart' List?
May 3, 2010 -- Not every city is created equal, at least when it comes tothe residents' awareness of skin cancer prevention.
That is according to the results of a new online poll, "Suntelligence: HowSun Smart is Your City", a survey commissioned by the American Academy ofDermatology.
The poll examined more than 7,000 adults in 26 cities questioning them abouttheir knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about skin cancer detection, sunprotection, and tanning.
Findings showed that those living Hartford, Salt Lake City, and Denver arethe most knowledgeable about sun protection while residents of Cleveland,Chicago, and Pittsburgh are the least knowledgeable.
"One common thread we found encouraging is the majority of people polledexpressed concern about skin cancer and had awareness of the importance ofproper sun protection," William James, MD, a professor of dermatology atthe University of Pennsylvania and president of the Academy, says in a newsrelease. "However, we found that people's behaviors don't always correlate withtheir concerns."
The survey was conducted between Jan. 12 and Jan. 31, 2010; 7,116 peoplecompleted it. More than 200 participants took surveys in each of the 26 cities.An additional 1,123 people completed surveys outside of the study cities, whichwere used for the national comparison.
Residents of the highest- and lowest-ranked cities showed significantdifferences in skin cancer knowledge and practices when compared to the averagecollective responses for all surveys.
For example, 59% of respondents nationally had never received screening forskin cancer from a health care provider. However, in the top-ranked city ofHartford, 48% of residents had never undergone skin cancer checks. The twolowest-ranked cities, Chicago (No. 25) and Pittsburgh (No. 26), fared worse.Sixty-seven percent from Chicago and 69% from Pittsburgh admitted to neverhaving had such an examination.
In another finding, 85% of respondents from Salt Lake City, thesecond-highest ranked city, disagreed with the statement that they are not tooconcerned about skin cancer because it is easily detected and treated, while76% of respondents nationwide rejected this statement.
Where the appeal of a tan was concerned, 72% of respondents nationallybelieved that tanned skin looks good. In Pittsburgh, the second-lowest rankedcity, 81% of residents had that impression, while in the 3rd highest-rankedcity of Denver 65% agreed that a tan improves a person's attractiveness.
"We're hoping the results of this survey will draw attention to the public'sneed to change its attitudes toward tanning, which is the first step inchanging behavior," James says in a news release.
He notes that if detected early, skin cancers can be successfully treated.It is a different story, however, when detection is late. The five-yearsurvival rates for individuals with regional and distant melanoma are 65% and16% respectively, James says.
Melanomas generally grow sideways before they grow deep, he tells WebMD, andwhile they are growing laterally they are not generally invasive, have lesstendency to spread, and are far more curable than when they are detectedlater.
When detected late, melanomas are much harder to treat successfully, hesays. "That's why people must be vigilant about protecting their skin from sunexposure and aware of the early warning signs of skin cancer."
Slideshow: Precancerous Skin Lesions and Skin Cancer
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