Marker check · 4 questions
Skin health
Skin is the organ you can see aging in real time, and that visible aging tracks with what is happening inside. Solar UV radiation is a Group 1 carcinogen (IARC), responsible for over 1.5 million skin cancers and 120,000 associated deaths worldwide each year. Melanoma kills around 58,000 people globally, but caught before it spreads, 5-year survival exceeds 99%. The Nambour RCT showed daily sunscreen use cut invasive melanoma incidence by 73%. The damage is cumulative: childhood sunburns, tanning bed use, and decades of unprotected exposure all compound. Shade and clothing beat sunscreen; sunscreen beats nothing.
The research
- WHO UV 2020 — >1.5M skin cancers, >120k deaths/year globally
- IARC GLOBOCAN 2024 — melanoma ~338k cases, ~58k deaths
- NCI SEER 2026 — ~99% 5-year melanoma survival if localized
- Green et al., J Clin Oncol 2011 — Nambour RCT: daily sunscreen, HR 0.27 invasive melanoma
- IARC Monograph 100D 2012 — solar UV, Group 1 carcinogen
1. How do you typically handle sun exposure?
Not answered2. How many blistering sunburns have you had in your life?
Not answered3. Have you ever used indoor tanning beds?
Not answered4. Do you check your skin for changing moles?
Not answered