In support of Melanoma Monday, nearly 3,000 dermatologists are providing their patients with convenient access to tools that help them to perform a skin self-exam. They have supplemented their practice Websites with information about the importance of early skin cancer detection, the ABCDEs of melanoma detection and a body mole map to track changes to the skin.
Dermatologist Jeffrey Ellis, M.D., FAAD, a board certified dermatologist and Mohs Surgeon in private practice at Belaray Dermatology in Plainview, New York, offers his patients online access to skin-self exam tools, including an animation that provides his patients with step-by-step instructions on how to evaluate their skin.
More 1 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, and more than 90% of them are related to excessive exposure to UV radiation, usually from the sun. Dermatologists recommend that people perform a skin self-exam once per month as an easy way to detect pre-cancerous lesions, such as actinic keratosis and suspicious moles could be melanoma.
The skin cancer resources provided by Dr. Jeffrey Ellis and other dermatologists are part of the online patient education service managed by Vivacare.
