As summer approaches, the danger of skin cancer increases. In Arizona, 171 people will die from melanoma every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
A new study from Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland shows melanoma in kids is down.
Between 2004 and 2010 the number of cases in children fell 12 percent every year. But this doesn’t mean you can skip the sunblock. Dr. Harper Price of Phoenix Children's Hospital worries that because of these numbers, people may have a false sense of security when it comes to sun protection.
"They consider going out in the sun as ‘I’m going to go out in the pool and swim,'" said Price. "What we care about as dermatologists too is actually that incidental sun that people get all the time just walking around."
When it comes to melanoma in children, Price said that the ABCD method used for adult to identity the disease (asymmetry, border, color and diameter) does not always apply for children.
"So in adult melanoma, we think of this black spot," Price said. "A lot of times the bumps that children get that are melanoma look like other common childhood bumps that aren’t worrisome and a lot of times they will also be symptomatic; they might be itchy, they might bleed, so they may be mistaken for a bug bite or a wart or something like that."
Price also said that parents need to keep an eye on their children. If a parent sees something abnormal on their child’s skin, it’s important to get it checked.