Sweden reports sharp rise in skin cancer deaths

Sweden reports a rise of 39 percent in the death cases of skin cancer over the last decade, local media reported on Wednesday. The number of people who died from skin cancer in Sweden increased from 380 to 528 between 2002 and 2012, the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter reported, citing a report published by the Swedish Cancer Society. The reason behind the sharp rise is not that the disease is more deadly but that more people have been diagnosed with skin cancer in Sweden today. Meanwhile, malignant melanoma is the fastest growing form of skin cancer in Sweden as the number of malignant melanomas cases increased by 74 percent from 2003 to 2012. However, a shortage of skin doctors is reported while the existing resources are not evenly distributed in the country. For example, in Stockholm there is one specialist per 20,777 residents while in the northern part Dalarna, the corresponding figure is 68,305. The Swedish Cancer Society is an independent non-profit organization with the vision of finding cures for cancer.