Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in humans. Over one million people in the United States alone will develop skin cancer this year. The three most common types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. One in every three cancers diagnosed is skin cancer.
Skin cancer affects one in six people in the United States over a lifetime.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer. Basal cell carcinioma is slow growing and rarely results in death. However, left untreated, basal cell carcinoma is locally destructive and eventually destroys all tissue in its path. Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common type of skin cancer with over 100,000 new cases per year resulting in approximately 2,000 deaths annually. Melanoma is the third most common type of skin cancer with over 40,000 new cases diagnosed each year.