Let's say you wear so much sunscreen that you should invest stock in it, and you never forget a hat and stay out of the sun as much as possible. We're proud of you! But you should still get checked by a dermatologist at least once a year. "Melanoma is the most common cancer in adults 25 to 29 and the second most common cancer in women 20 to 29," says Dr. Wu.
And just because you've hid from the sun the past few years doesn't mean you're immune to getting skin cancer. "A lot of times people will say — here's the other misconception — they say, 'Well, I'm not going to go in the sun anymore, so I won’t get skin cancer.' But in fact, one blistering sunburn in childhood doubles your risk for melanoma. Five or more sunburns, even if they aren’t blistering, will double your risk for melanoma," says Wu.
If you fell victim to tanning beds as a teenager, checkups are essential for you, too. "My patients get naked in front of me. I have found melanoma in people’s pubic areas!" says Dr. Wu. "If you use a tanning bed, you aren’t getting vitamin D, and you’re getting 10 times the dose of UV rays."
