Out of the three types of skin cancer, melanoma is the most dangerous and if not caught early could be fatal. Australia has one of the highest rates of melanoma cases in the world. Here is some important statistics (ref: Melanoma Institute Australia, Cancer Council, SunSmart).
Nodular melanoma is an especially dangerous form of melanoma. It appears as a new small round lump. It may be pink, red, black or brown in colour. It grows very quickly and can become life threatening in six to eight weeks.
- Skin cancer makes up around 80% of all diagnosed cancers
- 2 out of every 3 Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the age of 70
- Melanoma is the most common cancer in young people (15 – 39 years old)
- Melanoma kills more young people than any other cancer (20 – 39 years old)
- Every 5 hours one person in Australia will die from melanoma
- More than 90,000 skin cancers are treated in Victoria every year
- Twice as many Victorians die from skin cancer than road toll
- Melanoma makes up 2% of all skin cancers but causes 75% of all death from skin cancers
- Majority of skin cancers are developed due to overexposure to the sun
- ALMOST ALL SKIN CANCERS ARE PREVENTABLE