London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 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

Comments

David 3 year ago
Stop using seed oils in your food if you dont want cancer. If skin cancer was due to sun exposure then why do all skin cancers have low vitamin d labs?

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×