Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Fun With Cancer.

So, I was playing with the National Cancer Institute's Melanoma Risk Calculator because, you know, it's Tuesday. And I noticed that if you identify yourself as a man, just because, it asks you some additional questions:

Have you ever had a severe, blistering sunburn?

Do you have servere solar damage on your back?

AND

How many moles less than or equal to 5mm in diameter are on the patient's back?

I can't imagine that these are NOT risk factors for women, can you? (BTW, once I had a sunburn so bad that my forehead swelled and I looked totally Cro-Magnon). Anyway! I thought that was interesting!

Also, don't get it - Five-Year Absolute risk as a woman is .08, whereas as a man, it is .02, though I have more risk factors as a dude, and dudes have higher risk of melanoma anyway. Perhaps one of my risk factors - say, moderate freckling - is (besides being v.v. cute) a much stronger indicator for laydeez then men?

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