The numbers are staggering. One in five of us will develop skin cancer in our lifetimes. One million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year. An American dies of skin cancer every six minutes.

Some of us will wait too long to see a doctor and die of skin cancer. And many of us will continue to spend time in the sun, or worse yet — a tanning bed — without protecting our skin.

Dr. Mac Jones, a board-certified dermatologist at the Dermatology Clinic of Jackson, knows the enormity of the problem. “I diagnose a new case of skin cancer every single day,” he said.

Types of skin cancer

The most common skin cancers are …

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer. This cancer develops in the fifth layer of cells that form the epidermis of your skin. It usually develops on skin that gets sun exposure, such as on the face, head, neck, ears, back of the hands, upper back and other areas your clothes don’t normally cover. People who use tanning beds have a much higher risk of getting basal cell carcinoma. They also tend to get cancer earlier in life.

Basal cell carcinoma grows slowly and rarely spreads to other parts of the body. It can, however, grow wide and deep and destroy tissue and bone.

Squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common form of skin cancer, develops in the middle layers of the epidermis. Like basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell usually develops on skin that has been exposed to the sun for years and most often appears on the neck, back of the hands and face. Untreated, however, it can spread to other parts of the body.

Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer. It can grow rapidly and spread to other parts of your body through the blood stream or through your lymph notes. Once it spreads to your lymph nodes or another internal organ, it is much harder to cure, he said.

“Melanoma can kill you faster than any other cancer,” Dr. Jones said. “That’s why early detection of skin cancer is paramount.”

He shakes his head about patients who wait too long to seek treatment. “Too often patients seek a physician when they have pain or discomfort. You can’t do that with these cancers. The patient will tell me, ‘well, it wasn’t bothering me.’”

If detected early and before it spreads, the five-year survival rate with melanoma is 99 percent. That rate drops to 65 percent if the melanoma has traveled to the lymph nodes and 15 percent if it appears in another organ of the body.

Detecting skin cancer

When it comes to skin cancer, it pays to be vigilant.

“Skin cancer can appear without warning, and it can develop most anywhere on the body,” Dr. Jones said. “The most common location is the upper back.”

You should see a dermatologist if you have …
  • A rapidly growing mole.
  • A skin lesion that changes colors, becomes ulcerated or bleeds spontaneously.
  • A skin lesion with a
    n as
    ymmetrical or irregular border or a diameter greater than a pencil eraser.
Though basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma are the most common forms of skin cancer, Dr. Jones said, “the incidence of melanoma has steadily increased over the past 30 years. It’s on the rise.” Since 1992, he said, there’s been a 3.1 percent increase annually in non-Hispanic Caucasians.

He has been collecting other data about this growing problem.
  • The increases in recent years are more rapid in young women.
  • Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults, ages 25 to 29. It is the second most common cancer in people between the ages of 15 to 29.
  • Skin cancer has had a 3.8 percent increase in men who are over the age of 65.
  • Caucasians with fair skin, particularly those with red or blond hair, blue or green eyes and more than 50 moles on their bodies, have the highest risk of getting skin cancer, Dr. Jones said. People with a blood relative who had melanoma also are at high risk.
Though the increase in skin cancer in older people can be attributed to years of skin exposure to the sun, Dr. Jones attributes the increases in younger people to the use of tanning beds.

Besides the risk of cancer, too much sun exposure also damages the skin. “You often don’t see the effect until years later,” he said.

You don’t need to seek the sun to get Vitamin D, he explained. “Ten to 15 minutes of sun exposure every day is enough to produce the Vitamin D that you need. Many people get that with just a walk to the mailbox.”

Remember to wear sunscreen when outdoors, Dr. Jones said. Apply water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of 30 about 15 to 30 minutes before you go outside. “Apply it generously to all exposed areas of your skin,” he said. “Then reapply it every two hours.”

“Meanwhile, if you have any suspicious spots on your body, see your dermatologist,” Dr. Jones urged. “We’re trained in problems of the skin.”

“For your peace of mind, get it checked out.”