PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Doctors said skin cancers in Florida are becoming more prevalent and more deadly. That's why sun protection is becoming more important than ever.
It's another golf day for Steve Barnes, protecting himself from the sun.
The avid golfer said he spent his life trying to tan.
"You don't want to go through this. It just isn't fun," Barnes said of being diagnosed with skin cancer.
Forty-two years ago, Barnes was told he had basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma, two common types of skin cancer.
"We didn't know. Nobody ever told us how dangerous the sun would be," Barnes said.
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, skin cancer is the most common type of cancer. One in five Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70.
Tampa General Cancer Institute oncologist Dr. Sujal Shah said these statistics hit close to home.
"Florida is a unique outlier compared to most of the country. We see a much higher caseload of skin cancer, specifically melanoma," Shah said.
In fact, the American Cancer Society said Florida has the second-highest rate of new melanoma cases, and about 630 people die in the state each year from it.
"People are out in the sun, they're doing more outdoor activities," Shah said. "We want people to be active. We just want them to be doing these activities protecting themselves."
As far as those outdoor activities, researchers in Australia found that golfers were two-and-a-half times more likely to be diagnosed than the rest of the population.
It's all now a lesson learned for Barnes, on and off the golf course.
"I got my hat. I got my gloves. My sleeves are in my golf bag," Barnes said. "I got a practice club with me and I'm on my way to play golf."
