MAY – The Sun be with you or against you?
As the month of May is officially known as Skin Cancer Awareness month, I thought it fitting to share some interesting facts about Skin Cancer, but also some interesting facts from an ingredient standpoint and why Americans are not receiving all their options when it comes to prevention… 
Did You Know?
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, more than 3.5 million skin cancers, including 75,000 new cases of invasive melanoma, are diagnosed in the United States annually.
Did You Know the Risk of Skin Cancer in the United States?
Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers.
- From 1970 to 2009, the incidence of melanoma increased by 800 percent among young women and 400 percent among young men.
- Over the past three decades, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.
- One person dies every hour from melanoma, totaling nearly 10,000 deaths in 2013.
- One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
- Just one bad burn in childhood increases the risk of developing melanoma later in life.
- Melanoma is the number one cancer killer of women in their twenties.
- Skin cancer is most deadly for African Americans, Asians and Latinos.
Did You Know the Financial Cost of Skin Cancer in the United States?
- The estimated total direct cost associated with the treatment of melanoma in 2010 was $2.36 billion in the United States.
- The emotional and physical costs are impossible to calculate.
- A 2012 study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) concluded that “Given the substantial costs of treating melanoma, public health strategies should include efforts to enhance both primary prevention (reduction of ultraviolet light exposure) and secondary prevention (earlier detection) of melanoma.”
No New Sunscreen Ingredients Have Been Approved in the United States in Over a Decade
- The last time the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new sunscreen ingredient was in the 1990s.
- Outside of the United States, the next sunscreens that offer UVA and UVB protection have been approved for use.
- Since 2002, there have been eight pending sunscreen ingredient applications that are still waiting approval from the FDA.
- The American people need access to safe and effective broad-spectrum, photo-stable UV screens to protect themselves against the harmful effects of the sun. There has been movement on this issue by a group called the Public Access to SunScreens Coalition (PASS) who has worked with Legislators and the FDA on the Sunscreen Innovation Act. The Bill can be viewed here.
What can you do for Skin Cancer Awareness Month?
- 1. Encourage your member of Congress and Senators to support the legislation by becoming a cosponsor of H.R. 4250 or S.2141.
- 2. Participate in L’Oreal’s Thunderclap on May 20th
- 3. Share these important facts and information with your friends and family
Sources:
http://cancer.about.com/od/skincancermelanoma/tp/skincancerfacts.htm
The information below can be found at: http://passcoalition.com/index.php/did-you-know
