On April 30, 2009, I had the pleasure of visiting Albuquerque, New Mexico for the first time.  I was there speaking to a group of physicians about MoleSafe and our new location in New Mexico.  While there, I filmed a piece about MoleSafe for the region’s morning show Good Day New Mexico and I was introduced to a gentleman who was a melanoma survivor, Bill McCulloch (click on the picture below to watch the clip and meet Bill).

Bill is in his 60’s and had previously developed a melanoma on the back of his neck.  Like most of us, he had spent his summers in New Mexico in the sun.  What made his story compelling was that his melanoma was not detected by him, his spouse or his doctor.  Rather, one evening, while attending a show, a physician happened to be seated behind him.  Physicians never take off their stethoscopes and as the show went on, I can only imagine this doctor trying to get a close up look at the mole.  At the end of the performance, the doctor leaned over, touched his shoulder and suggested that he see his doctor regarding the lesion on his neck.  The biopsy confirmed it was a melanoma.

It was luckily non-invasive and he has done fine.  Still we must ask ourselves, why leave a melanoma to be discovered by a chance encounter with a doctor or anyone else?  Why has the healthcare community lagged behind the technology in developing standards of surveillance for the evaluation of the at-risk melanoma population?  I look forward to your insights.

Like most Americans my age, I spent a lot of time in the sun as a child.  Sun exposure was encouraged and sun block was almost non-existent.  In fact, we used oils and metal reflectors to encourage the burn.  My summers and most vacations were spent in a warm climate and like so many of us, I experienced many a sunburn.

I remember my father checking in with his dermatologist, sometimes more than four times per year, each visit resulting in several biopsies and a number of stitches.  It was only in medical school that I realized that my father had dysphasic nevis syndrome.

Around my 12th birthday, I noticed a mole on my right thigh.  I had not seen this mole before and asked my father about it.  My father was not a physician but he was a highly educated man and when he looked at the mole he called my mother and I remember my father becoming anxious as then he called his dermatologist to schedule an appointment for the following morning.

I saw my father’s dermatologist the following morning not really knowing what the rush was or why this made my parents anxious.  The dermatologist did a biopsy of the mole and I clearly remember my parents’ relief when they received my biopsy report.  It was like a heavy weight was lifted off their shoulders.  It was not till many years later that I understood about melanoma and the fear that my parents experienced on that particular day.

This is the personal reason that I am so passionate about providing a useful screening and surveillance program for patients at risk for melanoma.

Facts:  (From the Skin Cancer organization website).

• Melanoma accounts for up to three percent of all pediatric cancers.
• Between 1973 and 2001, melanoma incidence in those under 20 rose 2.9 percent.
• Melanoma is seven times more common between the ages of 10 and 20 than it is between 0 and 10 years.
• Diagnoses – and treatment – are delayed in 40 percent of childhood melanoma cases.
• Ninety percent of pediatric melanoma cases occur in girls aged 10-19.

My name is Dr. Richard Bezozo.  I am an Internist who has practiced medicine in New Jersey for over 20 years.  I have always had an interest in technology and from the age of 12 when I had a melanoma scare, I have always been afraid of melanoma.

Today I am starting the Melanoma Update blog.  I don’t want people to think of this as my blog, but rather I wish to dedicate it to people whose lives were cut short by melanoma, those who have beaten the disease and anyone touched by it.  My interest is in melanoma the disease, the stories of the people who fight it, and the stories of the people who help to fight it.

But, I cannot deny that getting the word out about early detection and surveillance is my primary goal.  I will do whatever I can to educate the public and the physicians who serve the public about what is currently available.

In 2007, while searching for new technology to improve the care of my patients, I was introduced to a company called MoleMap.  MoleMap had developed the only early detection and surveillance program for melanoma.  Initially from New Zealand, MoleMap was expanded into Australia.  In New Zealand, Melanoma is epidemic as the country is situated below the hole in the ozone layer.  This system was and is a heightened awareness of melanoma.

In 2008, I along with two partners became part of the Molemap network and launched MoleSafe in the USA.  To be part of something that can make a difference in people’s lives is very exciting.  The past year has been a new experience for me.  I have spent a lot of time traveling across the U.S., meeting and speaking with dermatologists and scientists engaged in melanoma research.

But enough about me…  Hopefully this blog will be a great platform for opening the dialogue on melanoma and can help bring together people who are in the fight against this disease…