In the spirit of Halloween, we encourage you to take off your costume. And all your clothes, for that matter!
Checking yourself or partner for skin cancer means taking regular reviews of all the spots and dots on your body.
Here’s an oldie but goodie post about early skin cancer detection and a how-to reminder on skin cancer self-exams.
Stay safe and have fun out there!
Having just returned from AdvaMed2010 with some 1,500 others also involved in diagnostics and effective treatments, certainly education and medical progress is top of mind. So, it’s appropriate that the Skin Cancer Foundation’s 4th edition of the handbook, “Understanding Melanoma – What you Need to Know” came out this week.
The 91-page guide runs through all aspects of the disease:
“from the moment of diagnosis through state- of-the-art treatments. Honest and straightforward, but reassuring in tone. Contrary to what many people fear, there is an excellent chance for a long and healthy life after diagnosis. Early warning signs and a step-by-step illustrated guide to self- examination of the skin are presented along with answers to the 25 questions most frequently asked about melanoma.”
(Note: It may be easier to get a copy on the SkinCancer.org store directly as it was already sold out on Amazon.com.)
And, my education continued, as mentioned, at AdvaMed, which was a terrific conference, even beyond appreciating both Katie Couric as a general session speaker and the ice cream social! Since MoleSafe has made such strides in sharing the exam and results with diagnostic experts and referring physicians through digital technologies like our proprietary View software, I was particularly interested in the panel on doctors using remote monitoring and real-time communication using mobile interfaces. These are very exciting times.
And, being advocates for awareness and prevention, I was pleased to see the session on “Diagnostics: The Cornerstone of Comprehensive Patient Care” well-attended. The key takeaways there were that diagnostics can enable a more efficient and effective healthcare system; second, and diagnostics can change the focus of healthcare from treating sickness to promoting wellness. Here here! (And, hopefully that “here” will include MoleSafe’s 6 locations!)
Keep educating, and help us keep the buzz about the need for skin cancer early detection going strong.
Stephen J Cannell passed away in early October at the age of 69, due to complications from Melanoma. The creator of “The Rockford Files” and “The A Team,” Cannell produced more than 40 TV series including “Baretta,” “21 Jump Street,” and “Wiseguy.” Certainly his loved ones will suffer the loss as much as any who lose a family member or friend. But when a high-profile personality falls victim to Melanoma it does help raise awareness and the point that this is not a disease that can easily be won even with access to the most expensive of doctors and treatments.
It is an equal opportunity assailant.
The good news is the money IS being well spent in research and seems to be starting to pay off. As I wrote about Bob Marley and other celebrities who have suffered and lost to Melanoma, vigilance is key, no matter your walk of life. Regular screenings at MoleSafe can SAVE LIVES via earlier diagnoses. In addition, as requested by the producer’s family, you may choose to honor someone with a donation to the American Cancer Society …or the Melanoma Research Foundation or the other organizations they list who are also doing excellent research towards finding better treatments and hopefully a cure:
If you know others doing great work, please share!
There is a lot of good team effort taking place throughout the year and throughout the country to raise money for Melanoma research. With the upcoming celebration of Columbus — one brave explorer — I wanted to take a moment to point out just some of the many support-worthy events that are taking place to help fund more discoveries by other brave explorers in science:
10/7/10: Wings of Hope for Melanoma – Melanoma Research Foundation’s Annual Fundraising Gala
6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Includes samplings from NYC restaurants and spirit companies, music, silent and live auctions, and an elaborate sweepstakes.
Edison Ballroom
New York, New York
And training continues for TeamM4M to run the:
More can be found on the Special Events Calendar at Melanoma.org, as well as many other sites, such as the Melanoma Foundation of New England. And, many teams, including one with Shonda Schilling and the Shade Foundation, are signing up to run the 11/7/10 ING New York Marathon for fundraising.
Thanks to all those walking, running, and fundraising to help the good fight. With the recent promising news in drug research we may be seeing some impact from everyone’s collected effort. Let’s all keep up the good work and spread the news and the contributions!
