Skin Cancer Facts

• Up to 90 percent of the visible changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun. 
• Contrary to poular belief, 80 percent of a person's  lifetime sun exposure is not acquired before age 18; only about 23 percent of lifetime exposure occurs by age 18.

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States.  More than 3.5 million skin cancers in over two million people are diagnosed annually.
• Over the past 31 years, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.
• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.

MELANOMA:

• One person dies of melanoma every hour (every 62 minutes).
• About 90 percent of nonmelanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
• A person's risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had more than five sunburns at any age.

WOMEN:

• Women aged 39 and under have a higher probability of developing melanoma than any other cancer except breast cancer.
• The number of women under age 40 diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma has more than doubled in the last 30 years; the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma among women under age 40 increased almost 700 percent.

MEN:

• The majority of people diagnosed with melanoma are white men over age 50.
• Adults over age 40, especially men, have the highest annual exposure to UV.
• Until age 39, women are almost twice as likely to develop melanoma as men.  Starting at age 40, melanoma incidence in men exceeds incidence in women, and this trend becomes more pronounced with each decade.

CHILDREN: 

• One or more blistering sunburns in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma later in life.
• Diagnosis -- and treatment -- are delayed in 40 percent of childhood melanoma cases.
• 90 percent of pediatric melanoma cases occur in girls aged 10-19.

INDOOR TANNING: 

• 71 percent of tanning salon patrons are girls and women aged 16-29.
• Indoor ultraviolet (UV) tanners are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma than those who have never tanned indoors.
• Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a proven human carcinogen.  However, tanning beds are regulated by the FDA as a Class 1 medical device, the same designation given elastic bandages and tongue depressors.

PLEASE:

• Get your kids (and yourself) OUT of the tanning salons.  Self-tanning products are odor-free and wonderful these days.  Try them.
• Get your moles checked annually by a dermatologist.
• Get your kids' moles checked annually by a dermatologist.
• Wear an spf-30 sunblock every day.
• Get sunsblock on your men.  There are plenty of really good, non-girly, oil-free products available.
• Understand that Botox (and other injectibles) will NOT reverse sun damage.
• Invest in professional skin care products for long-term good skin health.

To read all of the Skin Cancer Facts, please click on the logo below: