Related Document: Free Skin Cancer Screenings.pdf (Reprinted with permission
from the Messenger-Inquirer)
Free cancer screenings offered Saturday, May 6, 2006.
Appointments required; limited slots remain
The annual skin cancer screening push for Owensboro Dermatology Associates will have a twist this year--joining an effort to create a world record for most screenings in one day.
The office will be part of an effort Saturday by the American Academy of Dermatology, of which the local practice is a member.
"We've got over 200 people signed up already," said Sandy Merkel-Finley, marketing/public relations director for the practice. More than 62 percent of the 308 available slots were filled, she said. People "need to make an appointment or they're not going to be seen," Merkel-Finley said.
Two dermatologist, two physician assistants and a certified advanced registered nurse practitioner will do the screenings. The day is meant to be an outreach effort for people who have never had a screening, Merkel-Finley said. They also will be taught how to do self-exams of the whole body, including the scalp, back, shoulders, soles of the feet, between the toes and on the palms.
Learning about moles and changes in them "is one of the biggest helps in getting (skin cancer) treated," said Dr. Michael Crowe with Owensboro Dermatology. Other educational efforts will include advising about sunscreen, protective clothing and avoiding peak sun hours.
"This is just a check. It doesn't include treatment," Merkel-Finley said.
"It's really meant to evaluate people who might not otherwise have it available to them," Crowe said.
More than 200 sites are aiming to screen 5,606 people, which corresponds to Saturday's date, said a spokewoman at the academy's Schaumburg, Ill., headquarters. There is no record for single-day skin cancer screenings, but the Guinness Book of World Records has said it will create a category, she said.
It will likely be June before paperwork is in from all sites and the final tally is known, the spokeswoman said.
"We're trying to increase everyone's awareness of skin cancer," said Dr. Sandra Read, a Washington, D.C., dermatologist and member of the academy's Skin Cancer Task force.
The academy, which has screened more than 1.6 million people since 1985, has planned the record-setting event for about a year, Read said. The event will start the academy's 22nd annual National Melanoma and Skin Cancer Screening program. Skin cancer affects about 1 in 5 Americans, and more than one million new cases are diagnosed each year, according to the academy.
By David Blackburn
Messenger-Inquirer
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