Veterans who served in the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq have increased risk of skin cancer

Source: Daily Mail.co.uk, August 2015

• A new study asked over 200 vets about their use of sunscreen, sun safety training and time spent unprotected outdoors
• Only 13 percent reported using sunscreen regularly while 87 percent said they ‘sometimes’ applied it
• Half the respondents said they were sunburned while deployed at least once while less than a quarter said the military trained them about risks

Veterans who return home from the sun-baked Middle East have an increased chance of developing potentially deadly skin cancer, a study has concluded.

The new study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, found that many soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq who spent much of their deployments outdoors weren’t adequately trained about the dangers of sun exposure and failed to use sunscreen regularly to help prevent melanoma.

‘The past decade of United States combat missions, including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, have occurred at a more equatorial latitude than the mean center of the United States population, increasing the potential for ultraviolet irradiance and the development of skin cancer,’ study author Dr Jennifer Powers of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said in a statement provided to CBS.

The study surveyed 212 anonymous veterans returning home about their habits as they related to sun exposure.

Their answers revealed a startling ignorance – or disregard – of the the importance of mitigating the risks of ultraviolet rays, especially in the Middle East.

Only 13 percent of the participants said they used sunscreen on a regular basis.

The other 87 percent reported using it either ‘sometimes’ or ‘sporadically’.

However, a large percentage – a full three-fourths of respondents – said they spent four or more hours working in the sun per day and well over half said they’d gotten at least one sunburn while overseas.

As CBS notes, 20 percent who said they’d been burned said they had a blistering sunburn while deployed.

The study points to both a lack of military training about sunburn and a lack of access to sunscreen. Researchers also found that those soldiers who spent the most time in the sun -perhaps soldiers deployed to more remote regions – had the least access to sunscreen and protective clothing.

And the more time spent in the sun without protection, the greater the risk of developing potentially deadly melanoma.

A person’s likelihood of developing skin cancer doubles after five or more sunburns at any point in life.

Early detection is key with melanoma, which is easily treated in its early stages. However, it becomes more deadly as time goes on.

By its later stages, the five-year survival rate can be as low as 15 percent.