Skin Cancer Awareness Month

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month and that means that along with my normal beauty posts, I'll be scattering plenty of information about skin cancer prevention and detection this month. Yup, it's time for me to piss off the tanning industry and to frustrate sun-worshipers across the globe.

Skin cancer is serious business. Consider these facts from the Skin Cancer Foundation:

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than one million skin cancers are diagnosed annually.
• Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
• Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer; about one million of the cases diagnosed annually are basal cell carcinomas. Basal cell carcinomas are rarely fatal, but can be highly disfiguring.
• Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer. More than 250,000 cases are diagnosed each year, resulting in approximately 2,500 deaths.
• Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the two major forms of non-melanoma skin cancer. Between 40 and 50 percent of Americans who live to age 65 will have either skin cancer at least once.
• In 2004, the total direct cost associated with the treatment for non-melanoma skin cancers was more than $1 billion.
• About 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
• Up to 90 percent of the visible changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be talking to you about prevention, detection, and other ways to avoid adding to the skin cancer statistic. I'll also be highlighting several products/companies that are working to stop skin cancer numbers from rising.

Until then, head over to Sephora to check out their Sun Safety Kit. Sephora is teaming up with the Skin Cancer Foundation to offer this product once again this year. This kit is extraordinarily popular, so be sure to get yours now before it sells out. It's chock full of everything you need to be safe in the sun. You'll be getting products totally $110 for only $22.50 AND 100% of the profits for this product will be going to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Nice!