Although much has been attempted to get through to people about the deadly dangers of ultraviolet radiation, it appears that most people still do not take the dangers of skin cancer too seriously. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, more than 1 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year.

About 62,480 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with melanoma in 2008, the most deadly type of skin cancer. Also, about 11,200 people will die of skin cancer this year although its rate of survival is of 95 percent when caught early. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, about 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers are linked to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

What are the mistakes that most Americans make in caring for their skin? Well, there's a long list of them.

One is to use indoor tanning facilities, whose bulbs are basically ultraviolet bulbs which give out the dangerous radiation responsible for many skin cancers. In late March, the Indoor Tanning Association launched an aggressive nationwide campaign, saying tanning does not lead to skin cancer. However, experts blasted their campaign and New York Times ads, underlining that ultraviolet light from the artificial bulbs that are used in the tanning parlors can lead to skin cancer.

The second problem is that the timeframe between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun’s rays are most intense, is not the time to go out to the beach and stay in the sunlight. Also, sunscreen must always be used when the sunlight is at least moderately intense and/or when a prolonged exposure is necessary. The SPF or Sun Protection Factor indicates how many times longer needs a person to be exposed to ultraviolet light for his skin to burn. A sunscreen with SPF of at least 15 is needed, with at least 30 for a day at the beach. The product must be applied every two hours and in generous quantity to achieve the expected results.

Protective clothing is also highly recommended. For more information on the negative effects of sun’s rays on your skin, people are invited to visit www.skincancer.org, www.cancer.org, or the American Academy of Dermatology’s Web site at www.aad.org.