A PUBLICATION OF THE SKIN CANCER FOUNDATION • VOL. 13, 2012 NEWS FROM THE
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL
The International Advisory Council, representing 27 countries, supports and guides the Foundation's mission to implement prevention and detection programs for populations at high risk, to disseminate vital information in many languages, and to conduct and cosponsor national and international conferences for the medical profession and the general public on this most common cancer.
The Battle ANA-MARIA FORSEA, MD, PHD F
or decades, many people in Central and Eastern Europe had only scant knowledge about the importance of sun
protection and the dangers of skin cancer. However, thanks to enhanced efforts made by physicians and health organizations, skin cancer prevention is coming out of the shadows. Every year in Europe, more than
21,000 people are estimated to lose their lives1
to melanoma, a lethal form
of skin cancer when not detected and treated at an early stage. This is 2.5 times more melanoma deaths than in the US and almost half of all mela- noma deaths worldwide annually.1
The
disease kills more than 400 people in Europe every week.
This is just the tip of the skin cancer
iceberg, since melanoma represents only about fi ve percent of all skin cancers.2
However, it remains the
only skin tumor regularly reported in cancer statistics worldwide; cases
67
Against Skin Cancer: News from the Eastern Front
Each year, Europe has about 2.5 times more melanoma deaths than in the US and almost half of all melanoma deaths worldwide.