Where to Find Newly Diagnosed Skin Cancer Guidance on skincancer.org

Updated

Start with the homepage's "Newly diagnosed? Get guidance and support" link. It is the site's dedicated entry point for people facing a new diagnosis, and it sits alongside the Foundation's other main pathways: "Learn how to spot skin cancer," "Protect yourself while working outdoors," and the free screening and education program. From there, you can branch into treatment and prevention education, the free screening program, and ways to support or contact the Foundation. The site is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational organization, not a clinical service, so treat it as a starting point for understanding your situation rather than a substitute for your care team.

The newly diagnosed pathway

The homepage presents this as one of its primary "We Can Help" routes. The Foundation describes its mission since 1979 as setting the standard for educating the public and medical community about skin cancer, including prevention through sun protection, the need for early detection, and prompt, effective treatment. For a newly diagnosed reader, that framing tells you what to expect: plain-language education on what skin cancer is, how it is detected, and how it is generally treated — not personalized medical advice.

Use this pathway first if you want orientation. If you are still in the "is this something?" stage rather than diagnosed, the spotting guidance below is the better fit.

Educational content to work through

The homepage surfaces several content tracks that are useful after a diagnosis:

  • Know the signs — melanoma warning signs, framed around spotting the disease early "when it's easiest to treat."
  • What does skin cancer look like? — pictures of common skin cancers, useful for understanding what you or your care team are looking at.
  • Skin cancer stats and facts — background on the world's most common cancer, including the figure that 20% of Americans will develop skin cancer and that more than 9,500 people in the U.S. are diagnosed every day.
  • The Big See® campaign — encourages a monthly head-to-toe self-check using three words: NEW, CHANGING, UNUSUAL. This is a practical habit you can keep after treatment, and it gives you a shared vocabulary for describing changes to a clinician.

The site also notes that having 5+ sunburns doubles your risk for melanoma, and that the melanoma early detection 5-year survival rate in the U.S. is 99%. These figures are most useful for understanding why early detection matters, not for estimating your own outcome.

Free screening and education program

The homepage invites visitors to "Follow our free screening & education program." This is the route to check if you want to know about screening options and public education resources. The page does not spell out eligibility, locations, or scheduling on the homepage itself, so follow the link to see current program details before making plans.

Sun protection and daily prevention

Prevention content is woven throughout: "Healthy Skin Is In! Protect Yourself Year-Round," guidance on protecting yourself while working outdoors, and a daily max UV index lookup (the homepage example shows New York, NY at 0.3, Low). The site is explicit that the UV index display is a non-medical opinion for illustrative purposes and should not be used to prevent, diagnose, or treat a condition — so use it as a general prompt to protect your skin, not as a medical tool.

Supporting or contacting the Foundation

The Foundation states it relies on donor funds and invites visitors to "Support our work." If you want to give back or stay connected, that link is the entry point. The homepage also promotes a monthly newsletter and a "Sun & Skin News" blog, which are reasonable ways to keep up with new content. The page evidence does not list a direct phone number or contact form, so use the site's own navigation for contact details rather than assuming one.

A practical order of use

  1. Open the "Newly diagnosed? Get guidance and support" link for orientation.
  2. Read the treatment and prevention education pages it leads to.
  3. Review "What does skin cancer look like?" and the melanoma warning signs so you can describe changes accurately.
  4. Check the free screening and education program for what is available to you.
  5. Adopt the monthly NEW, CHANGING, UNUSUAL self-check and year-round sun protection.
  6. Use the newsletter or support link if you want ongoing updates or to contribute.

Keep expectations calibrated: skincancer.org is an education and advocacy organization. It can help you understand your diagnosis and ask better questions, but decisions about your treatment belong with your own clinicians.