Health - Fight Cancer News
Skin cancer screenings important over age 50
Posted: Oct 19, 2010 1:46 PM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
Updated: Oct 19, 2010 1:47 PM
What would cause you to be screened for skin cancer? For some Americans it takes a cancer diagnosis.
Surveys of nearly 500 Americans seeking a skin exam finds a majority of men 50 and older, one of the groups at highest risk for melanoma, only sought out skin cancer screening if they had already been diagnosed with the disease.
The study also finds a majority of patients are women in their 50s. These women went in for an exam because they had a history with the disease or they were concerned about sun exposure. Eighty percent of all adults being screened did not have a lesion that concerned them, rather they went because they thought it would prevent skin cancer.
Researchers say it hasn't been determined whether screening the general population for skin cancer will have the same benefit as other tests, like mammogram or colonoscopy.
To schedule a skin cancer screening, contact the Dorcy Cancer Center at St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center in Pueblo.
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