Melanoma (skin cancer)

Melanoma (Skin Cancer)

Melanoma is the deadliest of skin cancers. Rates of diagnosis for the disease have increased dramatically over the past three decades, outpacing almost all other cancers. Today, it is one of the most common cancers found among young adults in the United States. The following information provides key facts regarding risk and incidence of melanoma.

• According to the CDC, the incidence of melanoma has doubled during the past three decades in the United States.


• One person dies of melanoma every hour, every day.


• Your risk of melanoma is higher if one or more of your first-degree relatives (parents, brothers, sisters, or children) had melanoma. Around 10% of all people with melanoma have a family history of the disease.


• Melanoma is more than 20 times more common in whites than in blacks. Overall, the lifetime risk of getting melanoma is about 2.5% (1 in 40) for whites, 0.1% (1 in 1,000) for blacks, and 0.5% (1 in 200) for Hispanics.


• 96,480 people in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with new melanomas in 2019.


• On age related cancers, melanoma is the #1 most diagnosed cancer among 25 to 29 year olds in the United States. For 15 to 29 year olds, it is the 3rd most common for men and 4th most common for women.


• The average age of people diagnosed with melanoma is 63. But melanoma is not uncommon even among those younger than 30. In fact, it’s one of the most common cancers in young adults (especially young women).