HLSC 2462U Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Oncology, Debulking, Melanoma
Document Summary
Darker skin individuals have more melanin in their skin (contribute to the colour of the skin) which are protective pigments against the sun. Caucasians do not have much melanin in their skin hence the fair complexion. Without much pigments aiding to protect from the sun, a lot of sun damage can happen to the them. There is no natural protection against the sun with caucasian skin tones, light eyes and lighter hair. They all have less melanin which promote to being more common for having melanoma and a target for sun damage. Cancer is much more common as people age. This is because cancer is a disease of many mutations accumulating over time and people who are aging have a chance of accumulating many mutations over the years. The immune system as it starts to get older, starts to decline in recognizing and killing any abnormal cells.
