Spot the Red Flags Early with Annual Exams by Our Experts
One in five people (an estimated 9,500 per day) in the U.S. of all skin colors, will develop skin cancer, making it the most common form of cancer. Delay and denial are the enemies of early detection. The fact is, anyone can get skin cancer. Today, more than one million Americans are living with melanoma, and while the survival rate for melanoma is up to 99% when detected and treated early, that number plummets to an estimated 35% in more advanced stages.
It is critical to detect melanomas (and all skin cancers) as early as possible and to treat them effectively with the most advanced treatment options available. That's why we join the American Academy of Dermatology in recommending annual Total-Body Skin Cancer Exams.
The sun's harmful rays are the greatest risk factor for developing skin cancer. On average, your risk of developing melanoma (skin cancer's deadliest kind) doubles if you have had more than five sunburns, but just one blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles your chances of developing melanoma later in life, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Staying out of the sun during peak hours, wearing a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher sunscreen every time you're in the sun, reapplying it as recommended (at least every two hours), and wearing protective clothing, hat and sunglasses, can reduce the risk.