MELANOMA SKIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH - The Sky Is Your Guide

Melanoma Skin Cancer Awareness Month is an annual campaign that takes place every May.

For a second year, Melanoma UK is proudly supporting the 2020 global public awareness campaign in the fight against melanoma. By combining resources we hope to reach hundreds of millions of people in over 50 participating countries.

2019 Global Campaign Denial highlighted the psychological battle in the fight against skin cancer. This year, the Global Campaign is to show that the world has a melanoma problem. And it's getting worse.  

Ask any dermatologist and they will tell you the number of patients they see being diagnosed with melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer is increasing. But figures gathered by the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts for 2040, nearly 22,886 people will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in the United Kingdom resulting in 3,968 deaths.  These figures are truly staggering.

While its growing prevalence must be acknowledged, it's equally important that people know that melanoma skin cancer is one of the most preventable and, if detected early, treatable cancers.

There are a number of reasons why we could see melanoma skin cancer rising so dramatically in the future and that's why we are coming together as a united front to address the 3 key battlegrounds for fighting skin cancer.

These are:

(1) Improving public awareness of skin cancer risk factors

(2) Reducing intentional tanning

(3) Making skin self-examinations a regular habit

We want to encourage everyone to check their skin on a monthly basis. What happens every four weeks that could serve as a reminder? Something that everyone could see, wherever they are in the world. The answer, of course, is the full moon, the concept for the 2O2O campaign.

Link to the full 2020 MELANOMA SKIN CANCER REPORT