Did you know that we have two “official” chances each year to remember skin cancer?

Squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma are among the most common non-melanoma skin cancers in the United States. As many as 5.4 million cases of skin cancer are identified each year. To put that in perspective, there will be an estimated 2 million cancers of all other types in the United States this year. This means that there are over 2.5 times more non-melanoma skin cancers than all other cancers combined. An average American has a 20% chance of developing a non-melanoma skin cancer in their lifetime. Fortunately, non-melanoma skin cancer deaths are uncommon as long as it is treated promptly.

Melanoma skin cancer is the 5th most common cancer in the United States, with an estimated 200,000 diagnoses expected in the United States this year. Melanoma is generally more serious and is among the deadliest forms of skin cancer. Again, early detection is paramount, as early melanomas are often easily treated in the office setting and may not require more extensive surgeries or chemotherapy.

Most skin cancers develop because of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or elsewhere. Most solar radiation is absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere; however, UV rays that reach our planet’s surface bombard our skin with harmful radiation and cause DNA damage in our skin cells. Too much sun exposure causes our skin cells to change in unpredictable ways. Sometimes, they die, causing sunburn and peeling; at other times, they change color or even mutate into marks on our skin, like freckles, moles, or other growths. On occasions, those mutations lead to malignancy.

In addition to external stimuli, skin cancer can result from a genetic predisposition. We know that individuals with fair skin, who burn easily, or who have a family history of skin cancer are at additional risk for skin cancer. Weakened immune systems and other rare genetic disorders can also result in higher skin cancer risk.