Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, yet most cases are preventable. Every year in the United States, nearly 5 million people are treated for skin cancer, at an estimated cost of $8.1 billion. Melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, causes nearly 9,000 deaths each year. Despite recent efforts to address risk factors, skin cancer rates continue to rise. While those with lighter skin are more susceptible, anyone can get skin cancer—and it can be serious, even deadly. Almost all of the conditions can be caused by unnecessary ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure, usually from excessive time in the sun or from the use of indoor tanning devices. It is alarming that every year, nearly one out of every three young white women aged 16–25 engages in indoor tanning. It's important to shatter the myth that tanned skin is a sign of health. And a “base” tan is not a “safe” tan. Tanned skin is damaged skin. Understanding the risk of UV exposure is crucial to protecting ourselves and our loved ones. That is why “The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer” is important for all of us. It outlines action steps we can all take—as individuals, parents, educators, employers, policy makers, health care professionals, and communities—to reverse this alarming trend. As a nation, we can all do more to address skin cancer as a serious public health challenge. Everyone is urged to find out more about the risk of skin cancer—and what we all can do to prevent it.

The skin, uniquely positioned at the interface between the human body and the external world, plays a multifaceted role in the expression of cancer. Primary skin cancer is the most common cancer afflicting mankind and is rising in inci dence, despite the fact that it is often preventable. Besides primary cancer, the skin may show direct and indirect evidence of internal cancer, thus serving as a window to the body for both laymen and physicians alike. In addition, the acces sibility of the skin is useful for the study of carcinogenesis as well as cancer treat ment options. lowe much of my interest in skin cancer to Dr. Leon Goldman, the father of dermatologic laser surgery, and to Dr. Edmund Klein, the father of modern immunotherapy. We, at the Roswell Park Memorial Institute, were indeed for tunate to have a wealth of patients available for study. Many of the illustrations used in this book were of my patients at the Institute, and I kindly thank the fol lowing publications and their respective publishers for allowing me to reuse some of my photographs, most notably: Cancer Medicine (2nd edition), Journal of Surgical Oncology, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Archives of Dermatology, Cancer, and Journal of Dermatologic Surgery and Oncology. We are very fortunate in this work to have some of the world's foremost authorities in their areas as contributors, such as Drs. Zackheim, Lambert, J.W. Trimble, J.R. Trimble, Jackson, Crutcher, Mashberg, Wick, Sidell, F. Helm, G.

Mohs Micrographic Surgery, an advanced treatment procedure for skin cancer, offers the highest potential for recovery--even if the skin cancer has been previously treated. This procedure is a state-of-the-art treatment in which the physician serves as surgeon, pathologist, and reconstructive surgeon. It relies on the accuracy of a microscope to trace and ensure removal of skin cancer down to its roots. This procedure allows dermatologists trained in Mohs Surgery to see beyond the visible disease and to precisely identify and remove the entire tumor, leaving healthy tissue unharmed. This procedure is most often used in treating two of the most common forms of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The cure rate for Mohs Micrographic Surgery is the highest of all treatments for skin cancer--up to 99 percent even if other forms of treatment have failed. This procedure, the most exact and precise method of tumor removal, minimizes the chance of regrowth and lessens the potential for scarring or disfigurement

Skin cancer is the most common malignant neoplasm, and with the increasing regularity of such tumors comes the need for a practical guide for medical professionals to reference for diagnosis, management, and treatment. This book covers everything from the epidemiology of the skin cancer, clinical presentation with clinical photographs, diagrams of the most common anatomical locations, to histological descriptions, special stains/tests for diagnosis, and a treatment algorithm in chart form. A Practical Guide to Skin Cancer offers brief and succinct chapters with pertinent references, as well as high quality color photographs, diagrams, tables, and charts. Written for dermatologists, dermatology residents, and oncologists, this book allows for the reader to quickly and easily obtain the information regarding a tumor’s clinical presentation, patient evaluation and treatment algorithms, proving essential for every physician who encounters these tumors in their daily practice.

Photon Radiation Therapy for Skin Malignancies is a vital resource for dermatologists interested in radiation therapy, including the physics and biology behind treatment of skin cancers, as well as useful and pragmatic formulas and algorithms for evaluating and treating them. Dermatology has always been a field that overlaps multiple medical specialties and this book is no exception, with its focus on both dermatologists and radiation oncologists. It is estimated that between 2010 and 2020, the demand for radiation therapy will exceed the number of radiation oncologists practicing in the U.S. tenfold, which could profoundly affect the ability to provide patients with sufficient access to treatment. Photon Radiation Therapy for Skin Malignancies enhances the knowledge of dermatologists and radiation oncologists and presents them with the most up-to-date information regarding detection, delineation and depth determination of skin cancers, and appropriate biopsy techniques. In addition, the book also addresses radiation therapy of the skin and the skin’s reactions to radiation therapy.

Fast Facts: Skin Cancer has been written by three international experts to equip healthcare professionals with the necessary diagnostic skills and treatment options to save lives.

This report, which was developed by an expert committee of the Institute of Medicine, reviews the first three services listed above. It is intended to assist policymakers by providing syntheses of the best evidence available about the effectiveness of these services and by estimating the cost to Medicare of covering them. For each service or condition examined, the committee commissioned a review of the scientific literature that was presented and discussed at a public workshop. As requested by Congress, this report includes explicit estimates only of costs to Medicare, not costs to beneficiaries, their families, or others. It also does not include cost-effectiveness analyses. That is, the extent of the benefits relative to the costs to Medicareâ€"or to society generallyâ€"is not evaluated for the services examined. The method for estimating Medicare costs follows the generic estimation practices of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The objective was to provide Congress with estimates that were based on familiar procedures and could be compared readily with earlier and later CBO estimates. For each condition or service, the estimates are intended to suggest the order of magnitude of the costs to Medicare of extending coverage, but the estimates could be considerably higher or lower than what Medicare might actually spend were coverage policies changed. The estimates cover the five-year period 2000-2004. In addition to the conclusions about specific coverage issues, the report examines some broader concerns about the processes for making coverage decisions and about the research and organizational infrastructure for these decisions. It also briefly examines the limits of coverage as a means of improving health services and outcomes and the limits of evidence as a means of resolving policy and ethical questions.