Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C48hPIkLnA-/ Nearly 75% of those in the army, navy, and marines work outside in the sun more than 6 hours a day, most of those who served in the Iraq War suffered at least one sunburn, 40% of the military are unaware of their skin cancer risk, and air force flyers exposed to higher radiation levels face even higher risks. These facts were presented to the American Academy of Dermatology’s annual meeting by Harvard dermatologists at the VA Boston Healthcare System.  All of these enhanced risks lead to a higher incidence of all skin cancers including deadly melanoma, the most dangerous of skin cancers. These risks to military men and women is very real since the risk of developing melanoma doubles for those with 5 sunburns or even a single blistering sunburn as a child or teen. Those in the military and all of us need to protect our skin by wearing sun-protective clothing and regularly using sunscreen.  Of most importance for those at risk: regularly monitor your own s