May is Melanoma Awareness Month and skin cancer Doctor Ben Wiese spoke with AM 1150 News about the disease.
Wiese says the disease is much more common today than several decades ago. He says the risk of getting melanoma today is 1 in 63, compared to 1 in 1,500 in the 1930s.
“In the 1930s people didn’t use tanning beds and stuff like that where, unfortunately now, there's a large population group that uses tanning beds. And if we think about specifically tanning beds, early exposure to tanning beds can increase a person’s risk.”
Wiese added that genetics can also play a factor, but the most common source is the sun.
Wiese’s top three skin protection recommendations can be found at kelownaskincancer.com.