Air Force and Navy demolition disposal experts are exposed to the elements in 1978 as they search for live World War II explosives on the island of Enjebi, Eniwetok Atoll, which was an atomic testing area in the 1950s.
metastasize, Duvic says, but it can be locally destructive. By comparison, squamous-cell carcinoma can be in- vasive and might metastasize, espe- cially if it develops on an area close to a mucous membrane, such as the lips or genitals.
Though far less common, mela- noma is the most deadly form of skin cancer, killing an estimated 8,000 Americans each year. According to Dr. Steven Q. Wang, director of der- matologic surgery and dermatology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Basking Ridge, N.J., the incidence of melanoma is on the rise, especially among younger women, though researchers are unsure why.
Risk factors An equal-opportunity disease, skin cancer affects people of both gen-
PHOTOS: TECH SGT. HERMAN J. KOKOJAN, USAF
ders and all ethnicities. However, certain factors can increase an indi- vidual’s risk, including: • overexposure to natural or ar- tificial light (blistering sunburns, especially, can increase one’s risk of developing skin cancer, notes Duvic); • a fair complexion; • Northern European heritage; • multiple or atypical moles; • a family history of skin cancer; and • actinic keratoses, which are rough, raised scaly patches on the skin.
Servicemembers at risk Servicemembers might find them- selves at greater risk for developing skin cancer because of certain ser- vice-connected exposures, notes Dr. Ida F. Orengo, professor of dermatol- ogy at the Baylor College of Medicine and assistant chief of dermatology at
the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston. These include exposure to arsenic, tar, and radia- tion, although overexposure to ultra- violet (UV) radiation by far poses the greatest risk.
“The issue of skin cancer within
the VA is huge,” Orengo says. “We see a lot of people who served in the Pacific during World War II, in ad- dition to those who served in Korea and Vietnam, and now we’re starting to see individuals who served in the Middle East. These are the people at greatest risk and the people we really want to target.”
Skin cancer is one of the most common ailments seen throughout the VA medical system. Orengo says her facility alone sees nearly 3,000 cases of skin cancer each year, and the numbers are likely to go up in
JUNE 2012 MILITARY OFFICER 65
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