Putting into Perspective

Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers, accounting for nearly half of all cancers in the United States. An estimated 40 to 50 percent of Americans who live to age sixty-five will have skin cancer at least once the most common type being a basal cell carcinoma. which accounts for more than 90 percent of all skin cancers. Most of the more than 1 million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer diagnosed yearly in the United States are considered to be sun-related. In 2007. melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, accounted for about 59,940 cases of skin cancer. And o f the 10,850 people who die of skin cancer each year, most (about 8,110) are caused by melanoma.