According to the CDC, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in America, yet a new study found that just 34% of Americans worry about getting it. Advanced Dermatology recently surveyed over 2,000 Americans and also analyzed Google search trends data to learn which states are the most and least concerned about skin cancer.
They found that 40% of Americans say they rarely or never wear sunscreen and more than 70% only wear it in the summer. Even more alarming, 77% said they only reserve sunscreen for certain activities on summer days. 34% of Americans have had a sunburn in the last year, however, 53% have never been checked for skin cancer by a professional. Almost half of the country (24 states) aren’t concerned enough about skin cancer, including Vermont, Idaho, Delaware, and Montana, all of whom have high rates of skin cancer but average or low search volume for questions regarding skin cancer. The full report from Advanced Dermatology can be seen in the graphic below.