"Skin Cancer is no big deal."
"There's no way I could get skin cancer"
"Being in the sun is part of a healthy lifestyle."
"But I use sunscreen…"
"It's probably nothing.I'll leave it alone and see what happens…"

"Skin Cancer is no big deal."

• Skin cancer accounts for more cancer cases than all other types of cancer combined.
• There will be 1.3 million new skin cancer patients in the year 2002.
• Skin cancer comes in three nasty flavors: melanoma, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
• Melanoma takes its name from the cells where it originates, the melanocytes. These cells produce melanin, the pigment that colors our skin, eyes and hair.
• Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, accounts for only 4% of skin cancer cases, but causes 80% of skin cancer deaths.
• In the year 2002, an estimated 7,700 people will die of melanoma.
• Melanoma's tendency to spread to other parts of the body (metastasize) makes it more lethal than non-melanoma skin-cancers.
• Although basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas are less likely to spread than melanoma, they will be responsible for 1,900 deaths in the year 2000.
• Nearly one person dies every hour of every day in the United States from melanoma.
• Over 54,000 people will be diagnosed with melanoma in 2002.

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"There's no way I could get skin cancer."

• The incidence of melanoma has increased nearly 4% a year since the early 1970s - the rate is now 13.8 per 100,000 people, up from 5.8 per 100,000. The incidence of other types of cancer is in decline.
• Melanoma is the most common form of cancer among people ages 25 - 30 and second only to breast cancer in women ages 30 - 35.
• The average age of a melanoma patient is 46.
• Anyone can get melanoma, but you are at higher risk if you are fair-haired, light-skinned, or blue-eyed.

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"Being in the sun is part of a healthy lifestyle."

• Sun exposure is a significant risk factor for melanoma. The more UV radiation you get the higher your risk of melanoma.
• 80% of a person's total lifetime sun exposure occurs by age 18. The damage happens later, the sun exposure happens by age 18. Without even knowing it, many parents and children may be making choices that increase a child's possibility of developing a fatal disease later in life.
• A tan is a result of damage to your skin. There is no such thing as a safe tan.
• Because sun damage accumulates over time and may not become apparent until years later, young people are not often aware of the dangers of sun tanning and sun exposure.
• Clouds do not shield from the harmful rays of the sun. Up to 80% of UV-A rays can pass through clouds.
• In 2000, the National Institute of Health added UV solar radiation to its list of Known Human Carcinogens stating that solar radiation and exposure to sunlamps and sunbeds are known to be human carcinogens.