Anyone can get skin cancer. People with light-colored skin, hair or eyes are at greatest risk. A history of sunburn early in life also increases the risk. So does a family history of skin cancer.

Tanning beds can also produce high levels of U-V radiation. Many Americans think they look better when their skin is brown in color. They spend time in tanning beds in hopes to making their skin darker.

DOUG JOHNSON: The two most common forms of skin cancer are basal cell and squamous cell cancers. They can develop as flat, discolored areas of skin or as raised growths, often with a rough surface.

Melanoma is far more dangerous. Melanomas can appear even in areas of skin that do not get a lot of sun. Malignant melanoma begins in body cells that produce a brown color. It usually first grows in a mole, a small dark area of skin. Melanoma often looks like a dark area with an unusual shape. It can be flat or raised. Other warning signs are a change in skin color and uneven borders around a mole.

APAn example of melanoma

The majority of people with melanoma are white men over the age of fifty. Without early treatment, this kind of cancer can spread quickly. Each year, more than sixty-eight thousand people in the United States learn they have melanoma. The National Cancer Institute estimates that eight thousand six hundred fifty Americans died because of melanoma last year.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: The sooner skin cancer is found, the easier it is to treat. That is why doctors advise people to perform monthly exams of all areas of skin, from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet.