Melanoma rates doubled between 1982 and 2011 but comprehensive skin cancer prevention programs could prevent 20 percent of new cases between 2020 and 2030, according to this month’s Vital Signs report.
Skin cancer is most common, most preventable cancer in U.S.
May 25, 2012
As summer quickly approaches, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has joined the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Park Service (NPS) to emphasize the dangers of skin cancer and has provided simple steps Americans can take to protect themselves.
As rates of other cancers seem to be on the decline, the rates of malignant melanoma are on the rise. It is now the most common cancer among people 25-29 years old.
More than 45,000 cases of melanoma occurred in 45 states and the District of Columbia each year during 2004-2006, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.