The US Surgeon General’s office is drawing national attention to skin cancer, calling it a major...
The US Surgeon General’s office is drawing national attention to skin cancer, calling it a major public health problem that requires immediate action. The first-ever Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer outlines a national plan to reduce skin cancer risk through education, public policy, and research.
Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the US and rates are increasing. According to the report, nearly 5 million people in the US are treated for skin cancer every year. Melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, kills about 9,000 people in the US each year. It is also one of the most common types of cancer among American adolescents and young adults.
In a news conference announcing the report, Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh said, “This is an urgent and pressing public health challenge for our country. We need to increase action as a country to promote prevention for skin cancer.”
Calling for action
The Surgeon General’s report lays out strategies for governments, businesses, health care systems, schools, communities, nonprofit organizations, and individuals to work together to help prevent skin cancer in the US. The strategies include:
- Increasing opportunities for sun protection, such as shade, in outdoor recreational, educational, and workplace areas.
- Developing effective ways to deliver skin cancer prevention messages to the audiences that most need them.
- Promoting policies to prevent skin cancer, including sun protection lessons in schools, electronic reporting of skin cancers in health care systems, and sun safety training in workplaces.
- Enforcing indoor tanning laws and looking at making them tougher, while teaching people – especially young people and their parents – about the dangers.
- Doing more research to understand the link between ultraviolet (UV) rays and skin cancer, and how policies can best help people lower their risk for skin cancer.
“We all need to take an active role to prevent skin cancer by protecting our skin outdoors and avoiding intentional sun exposure and indoor tanning,” said Acting Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak, MD, MPH.
