The Naked Truth: Panel Urges Patients to Get Checked from Head to Toe for Melanoma

Source: Cure Today, November 2018

While early detection of melanoma could be life-saving, there is still much work to be done by both patients and physicians to ensure that people are receiving thorough full-body checks at the dermatologist.

At the Melanoma Action Coalition Fall Conference, a group of clinicians, patients, survivors and advocates met to discuss recent updates in the field, as well as what improvements still need to be made.

“Get in for that first exam somewhere between the age of 5 and 10. Then the pediatric dermatologist can make the assessment of how often to see them, depending on what they see. But there’s no harm in starting as early as possible,” said Katherine Steele, M.D., department of Clinical Dermatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.