Need help preventing skin cancer?

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

The statistics are scary. The incidence of basal-cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer, is rising eight percent a year. One in four Americans are at risk.

White males who live in the Islands are at at three times greater risk for skin cancer than their Mainland counterparts.

"Just one or two intense sunburns can double your risk for melanoma," the most deadly type of skin cancer, Dr. John D. Boyer, a Honolulu dermatologist and spokesman for the Skin Cancer Foundation, says.

He added that the average person does not use the recommended 1 ounce of sunscreen to cover their whole body.

"We woefully underestimate the amount of sunscreen we need to apply," Boyer said.

To help prevent skin cancer, the Skin Cancer Foundation, Macy's stores and Shiseido cosmetics are offering sun-safety brochures and free Shiseido sun-care products tomorrow through Tuesday.

Correction: The recommended amount of sunscreen use was incorrect in a previous version of this story.