Although the vast majority of skin cancers are basal cell carcinoma, the more-serious melanoma is a risk for anyone spending significant time in the sun. Here are some facts:
• One person dies of melanoma every 57 minutes.
• An estimated 73,870 new cases of invasive melanoma will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2015.
• An estimated 9,940 people will die of melanoma in 2015.
• Melanoma accounts for less than 2 percent of skin cancer cases, but the vast majority of skin cancer deaths.
• Of the seven most-common cancers in the US, melanoma is the only one whose incidence is increasing. Between 2000 and 2009, incidences climbed 1.9 percent annually.
• 1 in 50 will be diagnosed with melanoma of the skin during their lifetime.
• About 86 percent of melanomas can be attributed to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
• Melanoma is one of only three cancers with an increasing mortality rate for men.
• Survivors of melanoma are about nine times as likely as the general population to develop a new melanoma.15
• Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25 to 29 years old and the second-most-common form of cancer for young people 15-29 years old.
• On average, a person’s risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had more than five sunburns.
• Sustaining 5 or more sunburns in youth increases lifetime melanoma risk by 80 percent.
• Regular daily use of an SPF 15 or higher sunscreen reduces the risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma by 40 percent and the risk of developing melanoma by 50 percent.
