Tag: melanoma

McGill calls for participants

Sun tans are actually a response to DNA damage. (photo from pexels.com)

Skin cancer is the most common cancer worldwide. To better understand sun safety behaviour and attitudes in the Jewish community, a research group from McGill is conducting a survey.  And they are asking community members to take part.

More than 360 participants have responded so far, with the majority being from Quebec (60%) and 

Ontario (35%). Most respondents identified as Jewish by both religion and ethnicity (80%), and many identified as Conservative (40%) or Orthodox (20%); 70% are of Ashkenazi background; and 55% are mothers. 

Sun exposure and tanning

image - SunFit Project posterNinety percent of participants reported experiencing a sunburn at some point in their lives, and nearly half have had a sunburn that blistered. Seventy percent of respondents travel to sunnier climates for more than one week each year, primarily to the United States (65%). 

Seventy-five percent reported having a tan in the last 12 months, and 70% believe they look healthier or more attractive with a tan. Forty-five percent intentionally spend time in the sun on vacation or use tanning beds, while only 17% report never tanning.

A health concern 

Six percent  of respondents reported being previously diagnosed with skin cancer, while 30% reported having an immediate family member who has had skin cancer. 

Only 6% of respondents always wear a sun protective hat, while nearly 50% rarely or never do. Despite moderate sun exposure, only a small percentage take consistent sun safety precautions. Additionally, 70% of participants report that skin cancer has never been discussed as a health concern within the Jewish community.

Why this matters

These findings highlight a critical gap in skin cancer awareness and prevention. Sunburns, especially those that blister, significantly increase the risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Given that 80% of respondents describe their natural skin colour as light, it is essential for the Jewish community to prioritize sun protection. 

Skin cancer prevention should be part of ongoing conversations in our community. Encouraging discussions in synagogues, schools and community groups can help raise awareness. Daily sun protection, including the use of sunscreen, hats, sunglasses and shade should become routine practice. It is also important to challenge the misconception that a tan is a sign of good health, as tanning is actually a response to DNA damage. 

How dangerous is melanoma? 

In 2024, it is estimated that 11,300 Canadians were diagnosed with melanoma, and melanoma incidence in Canada is continuing to increase in men and women at a fast pace. It is often the sunburns in our 20s that lead to melanoma in our 60s and 70s. As people live longer, take more vacations in sunny destinations and are affected by climate change, we expect to see more cases of melanoma in the future unless we take action now.

To take the survey, go to portal.rimuhc.ca/cim/redcap/surveys, and use the code HA8CC7C9Y. By responding, you could win a $200 gift-card.

Any questions about the survey or the study can be emailed to medical student Raquel Lazarowitz at [email protected], dermatology resident Dr. Santina Conte at [email protected], or study director Dr. Ivan Litvinov, McGill University’s division of dermatology, at [email protected]. 

– Courtesy McGill University

Summer, sun … melanoma

A public service video produced a few years ago and making the rounds again this year hits me close to home. Produced by the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund and called Dear 16-Year-Old Me, the video warns of the dangers of melanoma and the importance of sun smarts and mole checks.

When I was 21, I had just recently returned from a year living in Israel, where I attended Hebrew University. One morning in Vancouver as summer was winding down, I was flipping through the Vancouver Sun at my parents’ kitchen table and paused on a full-page feature about melanoma.

I glanced over at my right forearm. I had long had a mole there, but now I noticed the mole contained one of the warning signs of melanoma: rather than being a uniform brown, it had a darker spot on a medium-brown background. Overcoming my fear of needles and scalpels, I insisted that my family doctor remove the mole.

A week later, back in Montreal for my final year of university at McGill, I received a call from my parents that I should make an appointment with a plastic surgeon as soon as possible. The biopsy results had come back and I indeed had malignant melanoma, thankfully only to a depth of 0.4 millimetres – so far. I was more scared than I’d ever been. One of my best friends scooped me up that evening for a distracting sojourn on St. Laurent Boulevard.

A few days later, I left my flat in the McGill Ghetto and went to the Jewish General Hospital. My surgeon, the late Dr. Jack Cohen, was a much-admired member of the medical profession in Montreal. He was also an excellent amateur whistler, and I asked him to whistle through the surgery to help calm my nerves. He warmly complied before leaving me with a formidable scar: a small price to pay for saving my life.

That night, swaddled and bandaged, I walked over to the McGill Arts Building to hear Canadian author Michael Ondaatje read from his latest novel. As the evening closed, the painkillers began to wear off.

My friends and family know that because of my melanoma history, I am much less fancy-free when it comes to summer fun than many of my fellow Canadians who are desperate for sunlight after our country’s seemingly endless winters.

I take care to wear hats and sunscreen (I seek out favorite brands and stick to them). I constantly seek out shade. I don’t sunbathe. I don’t turn my face to the sun and quip about needing vitamin D; instead, I take oral supplements.

As for sun-smart clothes, this season’s “maxi dress” fashion trend has helped a little. And, with the recent development of vitiligo on parts of my body, my vanity helps me want to avoid the sun for the cosmetic goal of keeping an even skin tone, as well.

When I’m feeling sarcastic, I joke that my Zionism – given the first of three years I spent in Israel – gave me melanoma. Sometimes, I look wistfully at the last photograph of my pre-surgery arm, my near-deadly mole visible as I sport a large backpack, smiling for the camera while waiting for the Egged bus from Jerusalem to take me to kibbutz Urim, one of my favorite weekend hangouts.

When I’m feeling ironic, I think about how the religious laws of modesty that I often privately disdain are actually very prudent for protecting the body from the dangers of the sun’s rays. It is for the reason of modest dress, researchers have inferred, that Palestinian citizens of Israel develop melanoma at lower rates than that of Jewish Israelis.

When I’m feeling especially cautious – which is always, when summer comes – I’m careful to apply sunscreen to my kids each morning. No one said that the sticky, daily ritual was fun. But it’s important.

I try not to saddle my kids with more fear than they deserve to have in their innocent years. Life is scary, and we need to protect ourselves where we can.

Mira Sucharov is an associate professor of political science at Carleton University. She blogs at Haaretz and the Jewish Daily Forward. This article was originally published in the Canadian Jewish News.