PHOENIX — A Phoenix church group has set out to try to change a big perception in their community.
"The biggest myth is that people of color do not sunburn and they do not get skin cancer," Belinda Miller said.
Miller is part of a group at the New Home Baptist Church trying to correct that myth.
"The danger comes from lack of knowledge," Miller said.
Because a lack of knowledge can be dangerous, she said.
That's something Dr. Kelly Palmer knows all too well.
"So once I was diagnosed with skin cancer, I was like, 'wow, I really need to be more vigilant about protecting my skin,'" Palmer said.
Palmer works for the University of Arizona Cancer Center. She doesn't study skin cancer specifically, but she does work on cancer screening for underserved communities.
"I think is going to really resonate with the communities that New Home Baptist Church is outreaching to," she said.
The outreach from the church comes down to a flyer, created by a former University of Arizona student, Lauryn White. The flyer gives simple instructions for skin cancer screening at home, as well as advice, like avoiding the sun when you can and covering up exposed skin if you can't.
"The reality is... that everyone is at risk of skin cancer," White said. "And it's often found much later in people of color, which makes it even more dangerous and outcomes much worse."
According to the UArizona Skin Cancer Institute, skin cancer is only fatal for 9% of people with fair skin five years down the road.
"If you're Black of African American in the United States, and you're diagnosed with melanoma, in five years there's about a 34% chance that it takes your life," Dylan Miller, who works at the Skin Cancer Institute, said.
The flyers are up in the New Home Baptist Church in Phoenix. But Miller and her friends say they need to go farther.
"Our goal is to is for each one to teach one," L'Tanya Miller said. "So for each person, they get that flyer, as we've taught them the information we would love for them to get the information out to their loved ones."
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