Shade Planning for America's Schools

Cancer of the skin is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States and perhaps the most preventable. Melanoma and non-melanoma cancers, including basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer, account for as much as 50% of all cancers. Because the reporting of non-melanoma cancers to cancer registries is not required, the exact number of non-melanoma cancer cases is not known. However, estimates indicate that as many as 1 million cases of basal cell and squamous cell skin cancer occur each year.

Melanoma, which accounts for only about 5% of skin cancer cases, also accounts for 79% of skin cancer deaths. From 1973 and through the early eighties, the incidence rate of melanoma among white men and women in the United States increased by about 6% per year. Since the early eighties, the increase has been around 3% annually. Approximately 55,100 new melanomas were diagnosed in the United States in 2004, and about 7,910 people died of
melanoma that same year.

This manual has been created to support school communities in their implementation of the Guidelines for School Programs to Prevent Skin Cancer and, specifically, to help schools create and maintain a physical environment that supports sun safety by ensuring that school grounds have adequate shade.