Skin Cancer Awareness Month

Floor Speech

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Mr. FOSTER. Madam Speaker, as May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, I rise today to draw my colleagues' attention to the importance of knowing the risks for common skin cancers and treatment options.

I am a skin cancer survivor, thanks to regular screenings and early detection. My father was not so lucky and passed away from untreated skin cancer.

Our skin is our largest organ, protecting us from temperature extremes, injury, and infection. When our skin is exposed to the sun for an excessive amount of time, particularly our face, neck, arms, and hands, DNA damage can occur, resulting in non-melanoma skin cancer.

It is estimated that 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70, making this the most common type of cancer amongst Americans. On average, 3.4 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year, with thousands of those cases resulting in death. With early detection, the 5-year survival rate for melanoma is 99 percent. Today, treatment options include both surgery and non-surgical radiotherapy.

Everyone should take steps to avoid skin cancer. Do self-exams. See your primary care doctor or dermatologist annually and tell them about your risk factors, including sun exposure, use of indoor tanning devices, age, prior skin cancer or family history, and other health conditions. Use broad-spectrum sunscreen that filters both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays and offers a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher every day. Limit your exposure during peak sun hours (10 am to 4 pm), and wear sunglasses with 100 percent UV protection and a wide-brimmed hat.

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