Skin cancer is a type of cancer that is prevalent in fair-skinned populations worldwide. Incidences of skin cancer as well as mortality rates attributed to the disease are on the rise and therefore, it can no longer be ignored by health authorities, especially in the US. However, despite all the growing public health concerns, very little is being done to address skin cancer. Government interventions to encourage sun-safe practices and environments have yielded poor results (Glans,2007). According to Narayanan et al., (2010), there were about 1.3 million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in the US, and 53,600 cases of melanoma were diagnosed in the United States in 2009 with 2,200 and 3,400 deaths occurring. Outdoor workers are at a greater risk of getting skin cancer due to their exposure to UV rays from the sun. Therefore, to reduce the risk of developing skin cancer in their occupational settings, the time that workers get exposed to UV rays should be reduced considerably. Health communication campaigns that aim at minimizing chronic ultraviolet radiation exposure should be prioritized by the health authorities in the government and championed all through the country. Moreover, more research needs to be done to figure out ways to identify skin cancer faster and treat those who have the disease so as to reduce the deaths caused by cancer.
References
Buller, D. B., Andersen, P. A., Walkosz, B. J., Scott, M. D., Cutter, G. R., Dignan, M. B., ... & Giese, A. J. (2010). Randomized trial testing a worksite sun protection program in an outdoor recreation industry. Health Education & Behavior , 32 (4), 514-535.
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Glanz, K., Buller, D. B., & Saraiya, M. (2007). Reducing ultraviolet radiation exposure among outdoor workers: state of the evidence and recommendations. Environmental Health , 6 (1), 22.
Narayanan, D. L., Saladi, R. N., & Fox, J. L. (2010). Ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer. International journal of dermatology , 49 (9), 978-986.
