Key Facts about melanoma

Melanoma is the leading cause of skin cancer deaths and the 5th commonest cancer in the UK. The incidence of melanoma has quadrupled over the last 30 years, especially in older men.

Although it is diagnosed more often in older people, it is also more commonly diagnosed in people aged under the age of 50 compared with most other cancers.

To improve survival it is vital to detect all cancers, including melanoma, early. Reducing diagnostic delays across all cancers is likely to save 5,000 - 10,000 lives a year.

Compared to all other cancers, melanoma patients have the second longest time between first noticing a symptom and presenting it to their GP.

It is challenging for both patients and GPs to recognise changes in a mole, which may be clinically suspicious, from the vast majority of normal moles.


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