The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Issue 13 Volume 112 | Page 4
COMMENTARY
Sandra Johnson, MD
Black is the new Orange
D
id you know that black is
the new orange? There is no
movie or book to educate us about this
but I am here to let you in on the secret. In the past,
our American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) had
a campaign encouraging us to “stop the spot” and
wear orange to help raise awareness of skin cancer
and melanoma. Well, there is now a black ribbon
campaign to help raise awareness of melanoma. So
black is the new orange. This is much better for me
personally since I think I look better in black than in
orange. In addition to black being the new orange, it
is also cool to encourage our patients to #getnaked. I
also thought I should share this information with you
not only because I want us all to be cool but since
the first Monday of the month of May is recognized
as Melanoma (Awareness) Monday. In fact, the entire
month of May is dedicated to increase the awareness
of melanoma.
We all know that the incidence of melanoma
is increasing. We are grateful that the awareness of
melanoma is therefore also increasing. Hopefully, with
this awareness, the practice of sun smart behaviors is
also increasing. We all know that sun-smart behaviors include avoiding the peak hours of sun exposure
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., seeking shade, wearing sunprotective clothing including hats and sun glasses, (re)
applying sun block, as well as avoiding intentional or
artificial UV exposure, including tanning beds. Fortunately, our great state of Arkansas has some very
good laws in place to protect people from the dangers
of artificial tanning, i.e. tanning bed use. Opportunely,
nationally artificial UV light is now being treated as a
carcinogen similar to tobacco.
Awareness of melanoma is important. Early detection of melanoma may impact survival. The most
important prognostic indicator for melanoma is the
depth. Usually, a melanoma that is caught earlier
will be shallower. It is preferred for the depth to be
shallow enough so that the melanoma is removed by
surgery. There is a lot of research being conducted for
the treatment of melanomas that are too deep or have
spread and therefore not able to be treated with surgery alone. Once again however, ea ɱ䁑