December Newsletter
Vol. 12 | December 2025
Happy Holidays! We hope that during the hustle and bustle of the season, you find time to give yourself the gift of skin health. Here are some quick tips to help you along the way.
1. Daily: Protect your skin from the sun. Even when it’s cold or cloudy, sun damage does NOT take a holiday. Make skin cancer prevention a part of your everyday routine. Check our recommended products to find safe and effective sun protection. And be sure to take extra steps to care for your skin when the air is cold and dry.
2. Monthly: Open your calendar and schedule time this month, and every month, to perform a skin self-exam. It’s simple and could save your life. When identified and treated early, most skin cancers are highly curable.
3. Yearly: See a dermatologist once a year for a professional skin exam; more often if you have skin cancer risk factors. Take the time now to schedule your 2026 skin exam with a dermatologist near you. It may take time to get an appointment.
These three steps will help you keep your skin safe and healthy through the holidays and into the new year.
Dr. Sarnoff Says
Destination Healthy Skin 2025 Wrap-Up
It’s a wrap! Our Destination Healthy Skin mobile skin cancer screening and education program has finished its 10,000-mile trip around the country in our new RV. Over the course of six months, our wonderful physician volunteers provided 2,391 free screenings and identified 898 potential skin cancers and precancers, including 57 melanomas. We’re already planning next year’s journey. Check our schedule in the spring to see if we’ll be visiting a community near you!
Make a Year-End Gift that Saves Lives
“Being diagnosed and having Mohs surgery for basal cell carcinoma this year at the age of 32 has opened my eyes to how common skin cancer is. Thank you for your dedication to research/public education!” – New donor to The Skin Cancer Foundation
We are truly grateful that you are part of our wonderful community, and hope that you will help us save more lives in 2026 by making a year-end gift. Your tax-deductible donation supports free skin cancer screenings for people in need, patient and caregiver resources, skin cancer education, advocacy work and research.
Together, we can make a difference!
Fighting Misinformation
In 2026, we are rolling out a campaign to fight dangerous misinformation about skin cancer and sun protection. We’ve seen it all: false claims that skin cancer does not happen to young people, myths about tanning and baseless statements about sunscreen safety. We’re trying to set the record straight and we’d like your input.
Reply to this email and tell us what you think: What’s the most dangerous piece of misinformation that you have seen online?
A. Myths about tanning
B. Misinformation about skin tone or age and skin cancer risk
C. False claims about sunscreen safety
D. Myths about the seriousness of skin cancer
Let’s set the record straight!
Breaking News
Thanks to the passage of the SAFE Sunscreen Standards Act, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking action to advance sunscreen innovation. The proposed new ingredient, bemotrizinol, provides safe protection against both UVA and UVB rays. This will expand public access to innovative, safe and effective sunscreen products that have been available in other countries around the world.
A BIG win for skin cancer prevention! Read more at SkinCancer.org/safesunscreen
New on the Blog
Acral Melanoma Survivor Warns: Know What to Look For
Most people who go to the podiatrist would never expect to get biopsied and diagnosed with a rare, dangerous skin cancer. But that’s exactly what happened to Dorothy Overstreet. Now, she wants to educate people about acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) and how to detect it.
Remembering Jimmy Carter: Public Servant, Humanitarian, Stage IV Melanoma Warrior
On December 29, 2024, James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, the 39th president of the United States, passed away at the age of 100. Carter was the longest-lived president in U.S. history. During the final decade of his life, the former president faced numerous health issues, including a battle with stage IV melanoma.
Expert Answers to Your Sun Protection Questions
Got sun protection questions? Anna L. Chien, MD, member of our Photobiology Committee, is here to provide you with evidence-based answers you can trust, to help you prevent sun damage that can lead to skin cancer.
With a chill in the air and snow on the ground, it may seem that the risk of sun damage is rather low. That simply isn’t the case. In fact, snow can multiply your UV exposure because it reflects the sun’s rays.
Monthly Giving: Join Our Skin Protection Fund
Join our community of monthly donors and become a member of the Skin Protection Fund (SPF). Your recurring gift will steadily support the lifesaving programs of the Foundation and help us educate the public and the medical community about skin cancer, its prevention by means of sun protection, the need for early detection and prompt, effective treatment. Learn more and donate here.
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