A study by the Mayo Clinic published in August’s Journal of the American Medical Association has revealed that despite repeated warnings about the dangers of skin cancer over the past three decades, the two most common forms of skin cancer have more than doubled in people younger than 40.

Both dermatologists and cancer experts were left wondering how to effectively bridge the disconnect between risk and behavior among young adults who often fail to understand the effect of prolonged sun exposure.  According to the American Cancer Society, about 800,000 cases of basal cell and 200,000 cases of squamous cell cancers were diagnosed in 2000.

While basal and squamous cell cancers are generally easy to cure with minor surgery, if left untreated basal cell cancer can be disfiguring and squamous cell cancer can become serious.  Every year, about 55,000 cases of melanoma skin cancer cases are developed among Americans, which kills about 7,000 people in the U.S. annually.