BACKGROUND: According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 1 million skin cancers are diagnosed every year.

Each year, there are more new cases of skin cancer than breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers combined. About one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. Between 40 percent and 50 percent of Americans who live to age 65 will have a non-melanoma skin cancer at least once.

There are different kinds of skin cancers, including:

Basal cell carcinoma -- This is the most common form of skin cancer. Basal cell carcinomas are rarely fatal but can be disfiguring.

Squamous cell carcinoma -- This is the second most common form of skin cancer. More than 250,000 cases are diagnosed each year, resulting in about 2,500 deaths.

Melanoma -- This type of skin cancer accounts for about 3 percent of skin cancer cases, but it causes more than 75 percent of skin cancer deaths. About 62,480 melanomas will be diagnosed this year. More than 8,000 will result in death.

THE SUN’S ROLE: About 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Researchers estimate up to 90 percent of visible changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun.

One blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person’s chances of developing melanoma later in life. A person’s risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns at any age.

WHAT ABOUT INDOOR TANNING? Nearly 30 million people tan indoors in the United States every year. More than 2 million of them are teens.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ultraviolet radiation is a proven human carcinogen. Frequent tanners using new, high-pressure sunlamps may receive as much as 12-times the yearly UVA dose than the dose they receive from sun exposure.

First exposure to tanning beds in youth increases melanoma risk by 75 percent. People who use tanning beds are 2.5-times more likely to develop squamous cell skin cancer and 1.5-times more likely to develop basal cell skin cancer.

KNOW YOUR ABC’S: Doctors recommend that patients develop a regular routine to inspect their bodies for any skin changes. If any growth, mole, sore or skin discoloration appears suddenly or begins to changes, see your dermatologist. You can identify abnormal moles by using the “ABC” test. A mole may be suspicious if it presents the following:
A -- Asymmetry: If your mole is not perfectly round or if one-half does not match the other half.
B -- Border Irregularity: If the edges of the mole or growth are jagged, notched or blurred.
C -- Color: If the pigmentation of the growth is not uniform. Shades of tan, brown and black are present. Dashes of red, white and blue are also present.
D -- Diameter: If the width is greater than 6 mm (about the size of a pencil eraser), it could be an abnormal skin growth.

For More Information, Contact:
Jennifer Roberts, Media Relations
Florida Hospital
Orlando, Fla.
(407) 303-8221
Jennifer.n.roberts@flhosp.org
http://www.skincancer.org
http://www.cancer.org