Parenthood is undoubtedly one of the biggest joys in a person’s life, if that happens to be your thing. So of course, like Disney, real life usually appeals to our emotional side via tragedy and killing off parents. According to a new study from the United States, a team of researchers found melanoma five times deadlier for new mothers.
- 3 million Americans get treated for 5.4 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer every year
- There are more cases of skin cancer every year than those of breast, colon, lung and prostate combined
- A whopping one in five Americans will develop skin cancer at some point in their lives
- Men aged 15 to 39 are 55% more likely to die from melanoma then same age group women
- Estimates say that 76,380 new cases of invasive melanoma will occur in America this year
According to the study led by the Cleveland Clinic’s director of melanoma surgery and plastic surgeon Dr. Brian Gastman, women diagnosed with melanoma during pregnancy or one year after they delivered are five times more likely to the succumb to the fatal skin disease.
Because of the observational nature of the study, no cause and effect relation was established between the two; however, the experts behind the study believe that reasons for the higher mortality rates in pregnant women and fresh mothers are pregnancy hormones.
As it turns out, rates of metastasizing, recurrence of the disease, as well as those of death turned out to be much higher in pregnant or recent mothers.
For the study, the team followed 500 women that were diagnosed with melanoma at some point between 1988 and 2012.
The women were followed for at least two years, and all of them were aged 49 and younger. Some of them had children, while others didn’t.
During the study, the scientists determined that not only were women diagnosed with melanoma during their pregnancy or one year after five times more likely to die from the disease, but they were seven times more likely for their cancer to spread, and also nine times more likely to have their cancer reoccur.
As melanoma rates doubled in the United States between 1982 and 2011, researchers are growing increasingly concerned with the safety of these at-risk citizens.
They advise care and caution when dealing with such matters, as well as occasional check-ups, for the well-being of the women themselves and that of their families.
The study was published in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology on the 20th of January.
Image source: Wikimedia
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