As the summer season nears, this is the time of year when the American Cancer Society steps up its efforts to remind the public about the dangers of sun exposure and how people can protect themselves and their children from the risks of skin cancer.
Skin cancer accounts for about half of all cancer cases in the United States.
The ACS estimates that 47,700 people will be diagnosed with melanoma this year and about 7,700 people are expected to die of the disease. Approximately 1.3 million Americans are diagnosed with nonmelanoma skin cancer every year, including an estimated 1,900 people who are estimated to die of nonmelanoma skin cancer this year. Ironically, however, skin cancer is the most preventable cancer. More than 80 percent of skin cancers could be prevented by protecting ourselves from the sun's rays. Former dispatcher enjoyed his work As a dispatcher for Otsego County Communications for the past 20 years, I have probably taken every kind of call imaginable, from the usual to the unusual and the humorous to the tragic.