Washington Department of Health
In spite of the abundant rain and persistent cloud cover that Washington is most famous for, the state still ranks toward the top of list for new cases of skin cancer. Confounding the matter even more is the fact that melanoma rates are highest in the notoriously overcast Western Washington communities that border Puget Sound.
While Washington as a whole ranks in the top ten for new cases of cancerous melanoma, the counties of Thurston, Jefferson, King, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island all registered higher rates than the state as a whole between 2011 and 2015.
While rates are still on the rise, data from the Washington Cancer Registry shows that rates of diagnosed cancerous melanoma of the skin have tempered just a bit recently. Those stats show that new cases of melanoma increased roughly six percent each year from 1992 through 2000. Since then the rate has increased by about two percent each year.
The Washington Department of Health offers several explanations for the increased rates of skin cancer in the Puget Sound area. One hypothesis is that Washingtonians mistakenly assume that those pesky clouds are providing adequate protection from the sun. However, the DOH says that 80 percent of the sun’s UV rays can pass through clouds. Those rays can also reflect off of surfaces like water, sand, or snow, which increases exposure to problematic UV radiation.
A press release from the DOH noted that, “Wearing sunscreen is important — even on days when temperatures are low and skies are overcast. Some days have a higher UV level, which means there’s a higher potential for damage to skin.”
Updated UV level readings are available online, or by downloading a DOH app for smartphones. The DOH says that a score of three or higher indicates sunscreen should be applied thoroughly.
