AAD Survey: Only a Third of Americans are Concerned about Skin Cancer Despite Nearly 70% Having at Least One Risk Factor

Almost half of survey respondents said 9 percent said they are more worried about avoiding sunburn than preventing skin cancer.

Despite skin cancer being the most common cancer in the U.S., only about one-third of adults are concerned about developing the disease, even though nearly 70 percent say they have at least one risk factor for skin cancer, according to a new American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) survey.

Additional survey findings include:

            •          49 percent said they are more worried about avoiding sunburn than preventing skin cancer.

            •          32 percent said they are more worried about avoiding wrinkles than preventing skin cancer.

            •          25 percent said they got a sunburn in 2020.

“These findings are surprising and seem to suggest that many people do not take skin cancer seriously or perhaps believe skin cancer won’t happen to them,” says board-certified dermatologist Robert T. Brodell, MD, FAAD, professor and founding chair of the department of dermatology and professor of pathology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, in a news release. "Yet, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime, and nearly 20 Americans die from melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, every day,” he says.

“While there are many risk factors for skin cancer that people can't control, such as having red or blonde hair or blue or green eyes, there are other risk factors that we can control, like preventing sunburns and avoiding tanning, both indoors and out,” says Dr. Brodell. “Unprotected exposure to ultraviolet rays is the most preventable risk factor for skin cancer, including melanoma.”

What’s concerning is that invasive melanoma — melanoma that grows deeper into the skin or spreads to other parts of the body — is projected to be the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer for both men and women this year,” says Dr. Brodell. “We need to make sure that everyone understands their risk for skin cancer and takes steps to prevent it as well as detect it early before it spreads.”

Keeping risk factors in mind along with practicing safe sun — such as seeking shade, wearing sun-protective clothing, and applying sunscreen — is critically important, says Dr. Brodell.