Katherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas Protect their kids with C Wear.
Read More

Why be SUN SAFE?

Since its founding in 1979, The Skin Cancer Foundation has set the standard for educating the public and the medical profession about skin cancer, its prevention by means of sun protection, and the need for early detection and prompt, effective treatment. It is the only international organization devoted solely to combating the world's most common cancer, now occurring at epidemic levels. More than a million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the United States every year. The Foundation's mission is to decrease the incidence of the disease by means of public and professional education, medical training, and research.

• More than 1.3 million skin cancers are diagnosed yearly in the United States.

• One in 5 Americans and one in 3 Caucasians will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.

• More than 90 percent of all skin cancers are caused by sun exposure, yet fewer than 33 percent of adults, adolescents, and children routinely use sun protection.

• A person's risk for skin cancer doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns.

MELANOMA
• The incidence of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is rising faster than that of any other cancer. There are now nearly 8,000 melanoma deaths every year.

• Approximately 62,190 melanomas will be diagnosed this year.

• One person dies every hour from skin cancer, primarily melanoma.

• By 2010, melanoma is projected to rise to one in 50 Americans.

• One blistering sunburn in childhood more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma later in life.

• While melanoma is uncommon in African-Americans, Latinos, and Asians, it is most deadly for these populations because it is more likely to develop undetected.

• Survival rate for those with early detection is about 99%. The survival rate falls to between 15 and 65% with later detection depending on how far the disease has spread.

• In the past 20 years there has been more than a 100% increase in the cases of pediatric melanoma.

MEN/WOMEN
• The majority of people diagnosed with melanoma are white men over age 50.

• Skin cancer is the #1 cancer in men over age 50, ahead of prostate, lung and colon cancer.

• Middle-aged and older men have the poorest track record for performing monthly skin self exams or regularly visiting a dermatologist. They are the least likely individuals to detect melanoma in its early stages.

• Men over age 40 spend the most time outdoors and have the highest annual exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

• In the past thirty years, skin cancer has tripled in women under age 40.

• After thyroid cancer, melanoma is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women 20-29.

• The incidence of basal and squamous cell skin cancers in women under age 40 has more than doubled since the seventies. “ [www skincancer.org]