81 years ago today, Bob Marley, the Jamaican musician and outspoken social advocate, was born. While many know his accomplishments in music, culture, and society, less know that his untimely passing at the young age of 36 was due to skin cancer. Marley was diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma—a rare, aggressive form of skin cancer—found underneath his right toe nail at the age of 32. Assuming the dark spot was a soccer injury, he did not get it examined until it reached a later, ultimately fatal, stage.
While skin cancer in Black communities is fairly rare (representing one to two percent of all cancers in Black people), it still exists. Not only that, but survival rates for those who have been diagnosed is disproportionately lower than their white counterparts. This is, in many cases, a result of later stage detection.
In honor of Marley’s heavenly birthday, ESSENCE speaks to Dr. Kim Nichols, a Connecticut-based board certified dermatologist and spokesperson for The Skin Cancer Foundation, to understand how skin cancer shows up in Black people and what to look out for.
ESSENCE: If most skin cancers
Author: Akili King
Read the original article on Essence.