Dear 16-year-old Me video on melanoma goes viral

If you watch this video, you'll understand why it's generated more than eight million page views on YouTube.

It provides a straightforward message to teenagers about how to avoid malignant melanoma. Here are some of the facts:

• One bad sunburn before the age of 18 doubles a person's chance of contracting melanoma.

• Fair skin and red hair elevates a person's risk of the disease.

• People with more than 50 moles are at a higher risk.

• The outlook is very good if melanoma is caught early.

• The prospects are far worse, with less than a 10 percent survival rate, if it's not addressed.

The speakers in the video are people whose lives have been touched by the disease, and not actors.