Melanoma: The Bottom Line

THE FACTS

• Around 12,800 people in the UK are diagnosed with malignant melanoma each year, and there are around 2,200 deaths from the disease.

• Malignant melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK.

• More people die from skin cancer in the UK than in Australia.

• Melanoma is now the most common cancer in young people aged 15-34 in the UK.

• In the past decade, cases of the disease have increased by over 50 per cent.

• Malignant melanoma has the biggest projected increase in incidence of any cancer by 2030.  

• Over 80 per cent of all skin cancers are caused by overexposure to the sun and/or sunbeds.

• The majority of early melanomas, where there is no spread to lymph nodes or other parts of the body, can be cured by simple removal. 

• Melanoma is much more difficult to treat in the later stages.

• Using tanning beds before the age of 30 increases your risk of a melanoma diagnosis by 75 per cent.

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source: Macmillan.org.uk