Skin Cancer Statistics

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Skin Cancer Prevention Ultraviolet (UV) rays can reach you on cloudy and hazy days, as well as bright and sunny days. Skin cancers account for about 80% of all new cancers diagnosed each year in Australia. Skin cancer costs the health system around $300 million annually, the highest cost of all cancers. The two most common types of skin cancer—basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas—are highly curable. However, melanoma, the third most common skin cancer, is more dangerous, especially among young people. In 2006,*2 53,919 people in the United States were diagnosed with melanomas of the skin, 30,560 of them men and 23,359 of them women. That same year,2 8,441 people in the United States died of melanomas of the skin, 5,477 of them men and 2,964 of them women. Protect yourself and your family from skin cancer while enjoying the outdoors.