Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

‘I thought being black meant I couldn’t get skin cancer’

‘I thought being black meant I couldn’t get skin cancer’

When Isser Nener was in her late 20s, she was diagnosed with skin cancer.

"I found a little mole on the back of my leg. I was on holiday with a friend and they were like: 'You have to have that mole checked'," she says.

"So I went to the doctor's and they removed it straight away. And a week later they said it was skin cancer. Obviously I was quite shocked and upset."

She was surprised because she had believed a long-perpetuated myth that high levels of melanin in black skin meant it could not be damaged by the sun.

"I actually thought that when you've got black skin or dark skin, you can never get [skin cancer] and you don't need to wear sunscreen because you feel like you're a bit protected. But obviously, now I know that skin is skin and you can still get it," says Isser.

Five years later, the cancer came back. "Luckily, again, I caught it early, I didn't have to have any chemo. They just had to remove one of my lymph nodes." Now, 10 years later, she's still clear of the cancer.

Isser had never used sunscreen when she was growing up and is now working with Cancer Research UK to warn others not to make the same mistake.

The organisation reports that melanoma skin cancers are less common in Asian and black people than in white people.

But Dr Ophelia Dadzie, a consultant dermatologist, says that when they do occur in black people they tend to be "much more aggressive and tend to be detected at a later stage".

Dr Dadzie points to reggae star Bob Marley, who discovered a patch of pigmented skin that turned out to be malignant melanoma, which he later died from.

"In terms of looking at your skin, you should look at your whole skin," she says.

"But, particularly for individuals who have darker skin, people should not forget to look at the soles, the hands, the palms and the nails."

She describes patients who thought that they had warts on the soles of their feet, but these turned out to be skin cancer.

Unpicking the myth about black skin being immune to the sun's rays, Dr Dadzie says the misconception probably grew out of the fact that black people have higher amounts of melanin than people with other skin tones.

"Within the community, it's sort of that whole idea of 'black don't crack' or people saying: 'I'm from the hot country, I'm OK in the sun,' that has become embedded within the community, because we have melanin," Dr Dadzie adds.

Melanin is the pigment that makes skin darker but it has other properties too - it is an "inherent natural sun protection", she says. "It sits in the cells of the skin and protects from UV damage and UV-induced changes to the DNA etc.

"The melanin will actually protect from that… but it's not 100% protection from the sun."

And she warns that it's not just skin cancer that people need to think about.

"For dark skin, a lot of the conditions I see are elated hyperpigmentation. Now, what people don't realise is that sun UV drives the hyperpigmentation."

Hyperpigmentation is where darker patches of skin develop and can be caused by excess melanin production.


So what do you do when you're in the sun? Dr Dadzie's advice is: "The British Association of Dermatologists has a three-pronged protection plan - shade, clothing, and sunscreen.

"So you can protect your skin with clothing, including a hat. You make use of sunglasses as well, with UV protection. Make use of shade between 11am and 3pm when the sun's UV rays are strongest.

"Then when you choose sunscreen, you want to use one with a minimum SPF of 30 and good UV protection, but the higher SPF, the better.

"It's also helpful to have products within it, which give you protection from visible light, because visible light can also cause hyperpigmentation.

"Make sure the sunscreen is water resistant and that you're reapplying that SPF every two hours as well, that is very important."


Tips for staying safe in the sun


*  Cover up

*  Wear sunscreen that is at least SPF 30 but the higher the better

*  Use sunscreen that is broad spectrum, UVA and UVB, and is water resistant

*  Reapply sunscreen every two hours

*  Take shelter in the shade regularly

*  If you notice anything worrying contact your doctor

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
×