When caught early, cure rates exceed 95 percent
Brazil expects 220,000 new skin cancer cases annually through 2025, with non-melanoma tumors representing 30% of all malignant tumors in the country. Early warning signs include non-healing wounds, bleeding lesions, and changing moles; melanoma is more aggressive but non-melanoma has excellent cure rates when caught early.
- Brazil expects 220,000 new skin cancer cases annually through 2025
- Skin cancer accounts for 30% of all malignant tumors in Brazil
- Free screening event on December 13, 2025, offers 800 consultations at CECAN in Natal
- Non-melanoma skin cancer has excellent cure rates when diagnosed early; melanoma is more aggressive
Brazil's annual skin cancer prevention campaign launches free screening and surgical services, with dermatologists warning of rising cases and emphasizing early detection as critical for cure rates exceeding 95%.
Every December, Brazil's dermatologists launch a national campaign called Dezembro Laranja—Orange December—to push back against a disease that has become the country's most common cancer. The Sociedade Brasileira de Dermatologia created the initiative in 2014, and the numbers explain why it matters: skin cancer accounts for roughly 30 percent of all malignant tumors diagnosed in Brazil, with the national cancer institute projecting around 220,000 new cases annually through 2025.
Rio Grande do Norte, the northeastern state where this campaign is particularly urgent, sits under relentless sun. The region's UV radiation stays dangerously high nearly year-round, which means the population carries an inherent disadvantage. Dr. Bárbara Carriço, who leads the dermatology society's Rio Grande do Norte chapter, has watched the problem intensify. She sees more cases each year, and they're not confined to the elderly anymore—working-age people are showing up with suspicious lesions. Women, she notes, tend to seek preventive screening more readily, which at least catches disease earlier. But the broader trend is troubling.
The disease comes in two main varieties, and knowing the difference can mean the gap between a straightforward cure and a fight for your life. Non-melanoma skin cancer—the basocelular and espinocelular types—is more common and generally responds well to early treatment, often appearing as a small wound, a pearly nodule, a rough patch, or a lesion that bleeds. Melanoma is rarer but far more dangerous. It spreads quickly to other organs and demands urgent attention. It typically begins as a mole that starts to change: the color shifts, the size grows, the border becomes irregular, multiple tones appear where there was once one.
Carriço lists the warning signs that should send someone to a dermatologist immediately: wounds that don't heal within a few weeks, spots or bumps that bleed repeatedly, rough lesions that flake or crust over, moles that alter their color, size, or shape. Add to that list persistent itching, pain, or burning sensations on any lesion. Delay is the enemy. When skin cancer is caught early, cure rates exceed 95 percent, especially for non-melanoma types. Surgery remains the most effective treatment for early-stage tumors. Advanced cases, particularly melanoma, require immunotherapy, targeted therapies, or radiation.
Prevention, Carriço emphasizes, lives in daily choices. Avoid the sun between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., when UV rays are strongest. Wear sunscreen with at least SPF 30 every single day, reapplying every two hours or after sweating and swimming. Add a hat, UV-protective clothing, dark glasses, and seek shade whenever possible. Never pursue intentional tanning. And watch your own skin—really watch it—while maintaining regular appointments with a dermatologist. The sunscreen itself matters: oily skin does better with oil-free formulas and gel-creams; dry or mature skin needs hydrating filters; darker skin tones benefit from technologies that prevent a white cast. People with fair skin, a personal or family history of skin cancer, or heavy sun exposure should jump to SPF 50 or higher.
The campaign's centerpiece is a free screening event scheduled for Saturday, December 13, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Centro Avançado de Oncologia (CECAN) operated by LIGA in the Nazaré neighborhood of Natal. Eight hundred appointment slots will be distributed starting at 8 a.m., first come, first served. Volunteer dermatologists will conduct triage and clinical evaluation. Patients who need a biopsy or minor procedures will move to surgical rooms within the same facility for tumor removal. To be seen, you'll need your SUS health card, an official ID, and proof of residence.
What makes this moment urgent is not just the numbers—though 220,000 cases a year is staggering—but the pattern Carriço observes: people waiting too long to have suspicious lesions checked, leading to diagnoses at more advanced stages. Working outdoors without proper protection, applying sunscreen only at the beach, seeking artificial tanning, and accumulating sunburns across a lifetime all sharpen the risk. Rio Grande do Norte's geography makes this a state-level crisis. The free screening on December 13 is one Saturday, one chance to catch what might otherwise be missed.
Notable Quotes
Rio Grande do Norte has very high UV radiation levels nearly year-round, which naturally increases risk for the population— Dr. Bárbara Carriço, president of the dermatology society's Rio Grande do Norte chapter
When diagnosis is early, the chance of cure exceeds 95%, especially in non-melanoma tumors— Dr. Bárbara Carriço
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Rio Grande do Norte seem to have a particular problem with skin cancer compared to other parts of Brazil?
The UV radiation here is intense nearly all year. Most of Brazil has seasonal variation—the sun is strongest in summer. Here, it's relentless. That's a geographic fact that compounds every other risk factor.
Dr. Carriço mentioned she's seeing more cases in working-age people, not just retirees. What's changed?
That's the troubling part. It's not that older people are getting it less—they still are. It's that younger people are getting it more. Maybe it's more sun exposure over a lifetime, maybe it's changing work patterns, maybe it's something about how we live now. But it's definitely a shift.
She also said women seek preventive screening more often. Does that mean women actually get skin cancer more, or just that they're better at catching it?
That's the distinction that matters. Women aren't necessarily getting it more—they're just getting diagnosed earlier because they're paying attention. That's why their cure rates are better. It's not biology; it's behavior.
The cure rate jumps to 95 percent with early detection. What happens if you wait?
The cancer progresses. It goes deeper, spreads wider, potentially reaches other organs. Surgery alone stops working. You're into immunotherapy, radiation, fighting something that's already established itself. The difference between catching it at month two versus month twelve can be the difference between a procedure and a battle.
So the free screening on December 13—is that actually going to move the needle, or is it just one day?
It's one day, but it's 800 people who might otherwise never get looked at. Some will find nothing. Some will find something early. For those people, that Saturday changes everything.