Quick Facts

• 90% or more of melanoma is caused by ultraviolet radiation either from the sun or tanning salons.
• Melanoma is epidemic: rising faster than any other cancer and projected to affect one person in 50 by 2010, currently it affects 1 in 75. In 1935, only one in 1500 was struck by the disease.
• Each year, approximately 59,940 Americans will be diagnosed and 8,110 will die from the disease.
• One person dies every hour from melanoma.
• Melanoma is the most common cancer in women ages 25-29 and second only to breast cancer in women 30-34.
• Sunburn at any age causes melanoma.
• Melanoma happens almost equally in the sexes.
• The death rate from melanoma for men is almost twice that of women due to late detection.
• Doctors don't regularly screen for melanoma and patients often find their own so examine your skin regularly.
• Early detection survival rate is nearly 99%.
• Exposure to tanning lamps before age 35 increases melanoma risk by 75%.