Skin screenings in outdoor workers at all time low.

New York City, New York (CaymanMama.com) — A U.S. report shows that the total numbers of adults who go in for a scrupulous skin examination to look for the signs and symptoms of skin cancer is very small. The lowest rates were found in those whose work keeps them in the sun all day long.

Using the data from a couple of government health assessments of more than 22,000 U.S. adults, examiners found that approximately fifteen percent had ever had a full body skin assessment.

While such tests are not recommended universally for skin cancer screening, a few medical associations do help and support them. For instance, the American Cancer Society suggests that every adult of 20 years or older should have a periodic skin screening.

Individuals with outdoor jobs have a relatively greater risk of getting skin cancer due to their constant exposure to the sun. In the recent survey, individuals in these professions were also those who rarely went to a doctor to have their skin examined.

According to the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, only seven percent of farmers and almost eight percent of  construction workers have had a detailed skin test.

On the contrary, the white-collar working people are likely to have a slightly higher rate. Studies show that participants in the health diagnosing occupations which involves nurses and doctors were likely to have a skin examination done.

Dr William G. LeBlanc of the University of Miami said, “Exactly why so few study participants had ever had a skin exam is not clear. But the findings point to lost opportunities to detect skin cancer early or prevent it altogether.”

Nevertheless, skin cancer is one of the most general type of cancers in the U.S., with more than one million cases of skin cancer diagnosed every year. The most severe type of skin cancer is melanoma but is not very common; however, its incidents have augmented 15 fold since the 1930’s.

WebMD has a new slideshow of what sun damage looks like. View it here.

Is it a mole, or something worse? View this WebMD article about the sun.

Board of Directors:

Paul Kamman, President
Cathy Kamman, Vice President
Michelle Shefveland, V.P. - Events
Barb Fallstad, Secretary/Treasurer
Patti Brown - Board Member
John Mosby - Board Member
Shannon Welch - Board Member
Steve Zacharias - Board Member

Melanoma Awareness
3320 Minnesota Lane
Plymouth, MN 55447
763-553-1746