Sunny Texas summers are beautiful — and deadly.

Since scorching, triple-digit temperatures are the norm during the summer months in Texas, skin cancer is a significant public health issue here. Nationally this year, about 75,000 Americans will receive a diagnosis of melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer.

Biopharmaceutical companies are hard at work developing medicines to treat this lethal and fast-spreading disease. But recent proposed changes to Medicare, the health insurance program for seniors, could put these medications out of the reach of Texans who need them most.