HHS has named May melanoma/skin cancer detection and prevention month.
May is here, and with it the promise of some late-spring sunshine. Unfortunately, ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun are the main cause of skin cancer – not to mention wrinkles and blotchy skin – according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The good news is, skin cancer can be prevented. Distributor sales reps can do their physician customers a service by reminding them that May is the perfect time to raise awareness among their patients.
Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, says HHS. Avoiding the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., covering up with long sleeves and a hat, using sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher, and checking one’s skin each month for changes can help people protect themselves. For those who balk at taking life-saving precautions, however, the following facts from the Skin Cancer Foundation may serve as a reality check:
- More than 3.5 million skin cancers in more than 2 million people are diagnosed annually. In fact, each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers.
- One in five Americans develop skin cancer in the course of their lifetimes.
- Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer; an estimated 2.8 million cases are diagnosed annually in the United States.
- Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer. About 700,000 cases are diagnosed in the United States each year; about 2 percent of these patients died from the disease in the United States in 2012.
- Between 40 and 50 percent of Americans who live to age 65 will have either BCC or SCC at least once.
- About 90 percent of melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to UV radiation from the sun.
For more facts about skin cancer – and how to prevent it – visit www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/skin-cancer-facts#general.
Pediatric skin cancer
Children and teens aren’t immune to developing skin cancer. Melanoma accounts for up to 3 percent of pediatric cancers, with 90 percent of cases occurring in patients between ages 10 and 19, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. In addition, more non-Caucasian children than adults develop the disease. Unfortunately, diagnosis and treatment is delayed in up to 40 percent of childhood melanoma cases.
Skin aging: A high price to pay
Many people may not realize that the bulk of their sun exposure will occur during adulthood. On average, less than 23 percent of a person’s lifetime exposure is acquired before age 18, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Furthermore, more than 90 percent of visible skin changes commonly associated with skin aging are caused by the sun, although daily sunscreen use by adults under age 55 can help reduce skin aging. A lifetime of sun exposure comes with a price, notes the Foundation. In adults 65 or older, melanoma treatment costs approximate $249 million each year.
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