Skin cancer: 300 dermatologists open to the public

On the occasion of Skin Cancer Screening Week, dermatologists are once again launching a prevention operation.

We don’t necessarily think about this one. The breast, lung, or colon are more familiar to the general public. But cancer has no preference. And when he decides to tackle the skin, he doesn’t forgive. On the occasion of the Skin cancer prevention and screening week, it is thus fashionable to recall some elements on this disease which, taken in charge sufficiently early, can be cured.

Not used to the sun

The stake of this meeting is all the more important as the incidence (new cases declared in the year) and the mortality of this cancer exploded in recent years in industrialized countries. In France, cutaneous melanoma affected 14,325 people and caused 1,773 deaths in 2015.

In question: exposure to ultraviolet rays. The sun, but also the UV cabins, have indeed a large part of the responsibility in this upsurge in cases.
Populations little exposed to the sun take the pill as soon as the star of the day appears. They get sunburned, explode their solar capital and pay a heavy price. In February, the Danes, not used to sunbathing in their country, had issued a humorous spot to ask the French to help them protect themselves from the rays when they go to our beaches.

Prevention operation

The French, in fact, are volunteers in the fight against skin cancer. The adoption of new prevention habits to reduce risks is one of the major challenges of the 2014-2019 Cancer Plan. And to do this, the message remains the same: get tested before it’s too late. And this, all the more so if you are part of the populations at risk (workers exposed to the sun – farmers, sailors… -, immunocompromised people, family history…).

Precisely, on the occasion of Cancer Prevention Week, dermatologists are launching a prevention and awareness campaign around carcinoma and melanoma. From Monday, until May 19, nearly 300 dermatologists are opening their doors for free skin cancer screening in their practice, along with information on sun protection.

This operation took place for the first time in 1998 and is repeated every year. Since the first edition of this meeting, more than 300,000 people have benefited from a free dermatology consultation, indicates on his site the National Cancer Institute, co-organizer of the event, with the National Union of Dermatologists-Venereologists (SNDV).

More than 3,000 cancers detected

The usefulness of the operation is no longer to be demonstrated. According to the results of 2015, the day (transformed this year into a week) of the SNDV had made it possible to diagnose nearly 2,650 cancerous lesions, 2,000 basal cell carcinomas, 500 melanomas and 140 squamous cell carcinomas.

To make an appointment with participating dermatologists, it’s here !