As the weather warms up and we all look forward to spending more time outdoors, remember that one in five Americans will get skin cancer during his or her lifetime.

That doesn't mean stay out of the sun. But you should protect yourself -- and get your skin checked for cancer.

Morris Franco, for example, gets a skin cancer screening every three months.

"I've had skin cancer for over 25 years," he said. "Basal cells. As a matter of fact, (my doctor) has removed 24 of them."

Franco is one of about 1 million Americans who get diagnosed with skin cancer every year -- more than all other types of cancer combined.

"Skin cancer, if caught early, can be treated fairly straightforwardly, and it's not that big a deal," said Dr. Darrell Rigel, of the American Academy of Dermatology. "But once skin cancer has spread, effectively nothing works. So it's particularly important to catch skin cancer early."

The good news about early detection is that it doesn't take any special scans, tests or X-rays -- skin cancer is right out there in the open.

"If you see something growing, bleeding, crusting, changing or flaking on the skin, that's the kind of thing you should begin to think about might be a problem," said Rigel.

Any dermatologist will tell you that even an innocent-looking freckle, pimple or mole can turn out to be cancer, so patients should go to the doctor to have trained, professional eyes checking for the disease.

That's why the American Academy of Dermatology is sponsoring free skin cancer screenings across the tri-state area during the month of May. Every year, lives are saved as a result.

"Each year we find a number of people, many of whom don't realize that they have skin cancer," said Rigel. "They haven't come in for a specific spot, but we still pick up skin cancers on them."

The Guinness Book of World Records' attempt for most screenings will take place Saturday, May 6, at the South Street Seaport from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and at 200 other sites around the country -- all at the same time.

To find a screening near you, visit http://www.aad.org/professionals/worldrecord/guinnessmap.htm.

For more information about skin cancer, visit http://www.skincarephysicians.com/skincancernet/index.html

For information related to the Guiness Book of World records effort, visit http://www.aad.org/professionals/worldrecord/.

In addition, Olay has a "Bring a Buddy" program to encourage women to get a free screening -- along with a friend -- during May and June. For a list of participating doctors, visit http://www.olaycomplete.com/saveyourskin/action/BU2for1.shtml.