Jennifer Linder, M.D. / Skin Cancer Information - Do you know your skin cancer facts?

Skin Conditions

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Skin Cancer Information

Unfortunately, 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime and the risk of melanoma has increased to 1 in 62. If a person has had five or more sunburns, their personal risk is doubled. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in men over 50, ahead of prostate, lung and colon cancer. Everyone should apply an SPF of 15 or more with either Avobenzone, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide or Mexoryl for UVA protection everyday, even indoors. UVA passes through windows causing both skin cancer and aging. When outdoors, wear long sleeves, hats and sunglasses. Due to skin cancer's possible deadly and destructive nature, sun-exposed patients should have a full body skin check once a year.

Do you know your skin cancer facts?

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States

More than one million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the United States annually. Eighty percent are basal cell carcinomas, 16 percent are squamous cell carcinomas and 4 percent are malignant melanomas.

There are more than 10,000 deaths annually from skin cancers, 80 percent of them from malignant melanoma.

Approximately 95 percent of melanomas are curable if detected and treated early.

The lifetime incidence of developing a melanoma has increased markedly over the last 25 years to more than 1 in 63. This means there will be more than 96,000 new cases of melanoma and over 8,000 deaths each year.

Melanoma is more common than any non-skin cancer in women between the ages of 25 and 29.

Patients with one basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer, have a more than 40 percent chance of getting a second unrelated basal cell carcinoma within 5 years of the first one.

Overexposure to ultraviolet light is the greatest risk factor for skin cancer. Therefore the best way to prevent skin cancer is to limit sun and ultraviolet exposure. Tanning beds increase one’s risk for skin cancer as they add to overall ultraviolet exposure.

Sunscreens used properly will minimize ultraviolet exposure. A full ounce of a sunscreen is required to properly cover exposed areas. A sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher that blocks both long (UVA) and short (UVB) ultraviolet rays is best. A real broad spectrum sunscreen should contain avobenzone, titanium dioxide or zinc oxide to protect against UVA rays.

Sunscreens should be applied to exposed areas daily, even on cloudy days. No sunscreens are water proof, but some are more water resistant than others and will be labeled as such. Reapply sunscreens every two hours or after swimming or perspiring heavily.

To detect skin cancer at an early stage, full body skin checks should be performed regularly by a dermatologist. Not only should unusual pigmented lesions be examined, but also lesions that are red and scaly or new flesh-colored bumps. Spots that bleed or never completely heal after being scratched should also be examined by a dermatologist.

The American Academy of Dermatology in 1994 passed a resolution calling for a ban on non-medical uses of ultraviolet light in suntan parlors. The Food and Drug Centers for Disease Control in the ninth edition Report on Carcinogens discourage the use of sunlamps and tanning beds, however effective legislation requiring that patrons be advised of the dangers of artificial ultraviolet light has not been passed in the United States as it has in Canada and some other countries. Twenty-eight states now regulate indoor tanning facilities by requiring such things as formal training for operators of tanning equipment, registration of facilities, written warnings to patrons of the dangers involved and many have minimum age limits whereby minors can use tanning beds.

Skin Cancer Foundation