That's a 2,000-percent increase from 1930. The 50,000 diagnoses projected for this year would be 8 percent more than in 1999. It's estimated that 7,700 Americans will die of melanoma this year. Robinson, the Loyola University researcher, thinks people fail to take enough precautions for themselves and their children for several reasons. And they simply don't believe skin cancer will happen to them.
People usually overrate their ability to tolerate sun.
If they can tolerate 20 minutes, they think they can tolerate two hours. Susceptibility to sun damage varies with skin tone, of course, with darker-skinned people less vulnerable than those with lighter complexions. Robinson's study showed that the attitude persists that suntanned skin makes people look healthier, Robinson found. Women apparently don't feel that way. He's an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.