While you may hear more about cancers such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, in actuality the most common form of cancer in the United States is skin cancer, with melanoma being the deadliest form of the disease. May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, and this first Monday of the month has been dubbed Melanoma Monday by the American Academy of Dermatology.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to remind people that sun protection is needed every single day. This is not a green light to get started, but this is a full year job," said Dr. Adam Friedman of Montefiore Medical Center in New York.
Most believe that skin cancer is caused by chronic exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the some, but recent research shows its becoming more prevalent among a much younger group. Some recent findings has found that even children are now suffering from this deadly form of skin cancer.
"This misperception that if you're a kid there's no way you can have skin cancer, whether it be non-melanoma or melanoma skin cancer, is very misleading," Friedman said.
Friedman also noted that the disease doesn't discriminate based on the color of your skin, while it is more prevalent among people with fair skin.
"Anyone can get skin cancer. Skin cancer does not care what color your skin is, what political affiliation you have, what religion you are," he said.
The best way to prevent skin cancer is to use plenty of protection when exposed to the sun and always visit a doctor if moles change color or shape. New treatment developments for the disease hold promise for turning a sentence of death to many years of life, Friedman added.
"The truth is, we are living during a very exciting time of research and development. It is the age of personalized medicines, new diagnostics usually used to identify these cancers and ways to treat them have emerged in the last ten years," he said.
It is estimated that there will be 73,870 new cases of melanoma diagnosed in 2015 and an estimated 9.940 people will die of the disease this year. While melanoma accounts for less than two percent of skin cancer cases, it is the leading cause of death among those who develop skin cancer.
