The Skin Cancer Foundation

The Skin Cancer Foundation will eliminate deaths and ease suffering caused by skin cancer. As the first stop for many people on their skin cancer journey, it’s our duty to provide accurate information and valuable resources to help guide patients and caregivers. We want to empower people by giving them the tools to understand skin cancer and, together with their physician, make confident decisions about prevention, detection and treatment. The Skin Cancer Foundation aims to change sun protection behaviors and ultimately save lives.

We take our responsibility as the leader in skin cancer patient education very seriously and aim to be the first stop for anyone looking for support or information in the skin cancer space. We bring together medical professionals, donors, corporate partners and laypeople through in-person events and a robust digital presence. We meet people where they are, whether that is online or in their communities, to make sure we’re reaching as many people as we can with our important educational programming.

We have a highly dedicated and able staff in place, working toward our mission, collaborating with allies and continuing to expand the Foundation’s reach. Like any nonprofit organization, our capabilities are limited through the amount of funding we can secure. We need your help to fully realize our goals and best serve the public with our programs.

The Skin Cancer Foundation is proud to have played a significant role in raising public awareness about the dangers of unprotected sun exposure. When Perry Robins, MD, launched the SCF in 1979, almost no one was promoting the idea of sun protection. Dr. Robins fought back against the prevailing myth that a tan was good for you, and a sign of health and vitality. The SCF was the first organization to decree that a sunscreen should have a minimum SPF of 15 for effective protection.

As a founding member of the PASS (Public Access to Sunscreen) Coalition, the SCF also fought for and supported the federal Sunscreen Innovation Act (SIA), which was passed in 2014. The intention of SIA was to encourage the FDA to step up its process for reviewing new sunscreen ingredients. To date, the FDA has still not approved any new ingredients. The SCF continues to push for approval of new ingredients.

The SCF has also played a pivotal role in funding groundbreaking research. Since 1981, generous donors to the Foundation’s Research Grants Program have allowed us to give young physicians and investigators stipends for early research that served as stepping stones to important breakthroughs.

We’ve also been very vocal about the dangers associated with UV tanning and have supported local and federal legislation efforts to ban minors from using tanning beds. In 2014, our participation in lobbying efforts helped make the FDA reclassify tanning devices from class I (low risk, with the least regulatory control) to class II, higher-risk devices that must meet additional regulatory requirements to provide reasonable assurance of safety.
Currently, 17 states plus the District of Columbia prohibit people younger than 18 from using tanning beds. None of those bans existed when we started, and we know we had a lot to do with it. There’s still a long way to go: Our lobbying has already contributed to a standing FDA proposal that would prohibit use of sunlamp products nationwide to people under age 18. But tanning is every bit as damaging to older people’s skin, so we won’t rest until tanning salons have been banned altogether across the U.S.

We know that skin cancer risk can be dramatically reduced through sun protection and early detection, which is where we’ve focused our education efforts. We know many people are aware of the risks of unprotected sun exposure, but still do not take steps to protect themselves. We want to convey that sun protection is a lifestyle; protecting yourself against incidental, everyday sun exposure is as important as protecting yourself during extended time outdoors.

Though skin cancer mortality rates have fallen in recent years, far too many people die from this highly preventable disease. Thousands more live with disfigurement due to skin cancer, and the emotional toll of this disease remains high. No one need die of skin cancer, and we won’t be satisfied until the death rate is zero.