Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. It is estimated that more than 3.5 million new cases are diagnosed each year — more than all other cancers combined.
One in five Americans will get skin cancer in their lifetimes. Skin cancers can affect your appearance as well as your health. The best way to find skin cancer before it becomes a serious problem, is by checking your skin regularly. Most of the brownish spots on your skin – freckles, moles, and birthmarks – are normal, but some may be skin cancers. It is important to look for changes in these spots or the appearance of new spots when checking your skin. See more on skin self-examination here: Screening and Early Detection
There are two main categories of skin cancer:
- nonmelanoma skin cancer
- melanoma
Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer
The most common form of skin cancer is nonmelanoma skin cancer, also known as keratinocyte carcinoma (KC). The two major types of nonmelanoma skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma SCC). Find out more about basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma and how we treat them at the Arizona Cancer Center.
Basal cell carcinoma Squamous cell carcinoma
Read more about nonmelanoma skin cancers:
- National Cancer Institute: Skin cancer
- American Cancer Society
Melanoma
The most serious form of skin cancer is melanoma. Melanoma skin cancer occurs much less often than the nonmelanoma skin cancers, but causes more deaths. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), over 100,000 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed this year, and over 8,000 people will die from the disease. Melanoma incidence rates have been increasing for at least 30 years and continue to increase by almost 3% each year. Learn more about melanoma and how we treat it at The University of Arizona Cancer Center.
Skin Cancer in Arizona
It is estimated by the American Cancer Society that Arizona will have over 3,000 new cases of melanoma this year. The number of nonmelanoma skin cancers such as basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is much higher than melanoma incidence, but is difficult to estimate, as they are currently not reported to cancer registries. Between 1985 and 1998, the Arizona Cancer Center sponsored a skin cancer registry that identified cases of all types of skin cancer that occurred within the three southeastern counties of Arizona. This was the only such registry in the United States that tracked all types of skin cancers. These registry data suggest that Arizona has higher skin cancer rates than any other state in the U.S.
MORE ON SKIN CANCER IN ARIZONA
Skin Cancer News
Below are some interesting articles related to skin cancer.
Reference: American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2020. 
cancer-facts-and-figures-2020.pdf