More people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the U.S. than all other cancers

I can remember it like yesterday. I was about 11 years old and nervous to be in my first 4-H public speaking contest.

A confident teen stepped to the front of the room and passionately delivered her persuasive speech, “Fry Now, Pay Later.” She explained the connections between our behaviors and increased risk for skin cancer. I swore right then and there I’d never use a tanning bed and always wear sunscreen.

Fast forward a few years, and though that speech was impactful, society was sending me mixed messages. A friend in college was planning her honeymoon. She had been told sunscreen was off limits in the Caribbean location they would be visiting because of water quality and marine life concerns. Therefore, she had been using a tanning bed to ensure her very fair skin did not burn to a crisp while they were there. I began to wonder if tanning was such a big deal.

According to the skin cancer foundation, more people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the U.S. than all other cancers combined. More than 9,500 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every day. More than two people die of skin cancer each hour. The greatest risk for developing skin cancer is exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

There are basically two types of skin cancer, melanoma and non-melanoma types. With advances in medical treatments in recent decades, non-melanoma skin cancer has an extremely high survival rate, especially in the U.S. Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the main types of non-melanoma skin cancer.

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form with about 3.6 million cases diagnosed each year. Squamous cell carcinoma is second most common with about half as many cases annually. About 90% of these types of cancer are associated with exposure to UV radiation.

Melanoma is not the result of carcinoma getting worse. It is a different type of skin cancer. Melanoma is also linked to UV radiation in a majority of cases. Treatments for melanoma result in higher survival rate than people may expect. But a key to this is early detection. Currently there is a 99% five-year survival rate for early detected melanoma. Like other types of cancer, once the disease reaches lymph nodes or metastasizes to travel to other organs, then the survival rates fall drastically.

Overall, one in 28 white men and one in 41 white women will develop melanoma in their lifetime. Most people who develop melanoma are white men over age 55. Dermatologists recommend using SPF of 15 or higher.

I recently attended a professional in-service where we heard from Dr. Tarek Haykal of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He strongly recommends SPF 30 and explained there is only incremental advantage to any number higher than that.

This year I will have a DermaScan unit at the Health, Safety and Wellness Expo from 8 a.m. to noon March 16, at the Coshocton County Community Room. This machine screens for potential sun damage to the skin. This is a great tool for you to be able to get a different look at the skin on your face, which is one of our primary places for UV light exposure.

And on another note, OSU Extension has a great fact sheet about the Solar Eclipse happening on April 8 and viewable through much of Ohio. Learn about safe ways to view the eclipse and the sciences behind it. You can learn more at ohio4h.org/solareclipse.

Today I’ll leave you with this quote from Henry Ward Beecher: “The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy.”

Emily Marrison is an OSU Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Educator and may be reached at 740-622-2265.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Skin cancer is a serious matter, especially as we get older