Melanoma Awareness Week is being celebrated for the sixth time from 15-21 May 2017. During this year's edition, held under the slogan "7W against melanoma", experts together with the Ambassadors are encouraging prevention of this cancer. Following the simple seven guidelines can help to guard against one of the most aggressive skin cancers!
'#7W against melanoma' is a simple rule to remember and apply to reduce the risk of developing melanoma:
- Throw on a shirt
- Rub in a cream with a UV filter
- Put your hat on your head
- Slip UV-filtered goggles on your nose
- Rest in the shade from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Beware of tanning beds
- In this rush to the doctor if a new mole has appeared or an existing one has changed. Also remember to have a monthly skin self-examination.
The principles of prevention and protection against melanoma, collected under the common slogan "7W", are a set of simple yet very valuable behaviours, the observance of which can minimise the risk of melanoma and, as a consequence, may even save lives - explains Joanna Łojko, Managing Director of the "Cancer'n'Roll - Win Life!" Foundation.
Wanting the idea of 7W to reach the general public, including young people in particular, seven videos were produced with actors, patient organisations and medical experts. They lent their support to the dissemination of melanoma prevention principles: Agnieszka Włodarczyk, Katarzyna Warnke, Zofia Zborowska, Grzegorz Małecki, Filip Bobek, Bartłomiej Firlet and Leszek Stanek, as well as the "Star of Hope" Foundation, the "Rak'n'Roll - Win Life!" Foundation, the Polish Amazons Social Movement, the Sarcoma Association for Helping Sick People with Sarcoma, the Polish Coalition of Oncology Patients and Grażyna Kamińska-Winciorek, MD, PhD, Monika Słowińska, MD, Piotr Rutkowski and Professor Witold Owczarek.
Recordings presenting more 7W slogans will appear from 15-21 May on the Melanoma Academy website www.akademiaczerniaka.org and on the Facebook page of the campaign "I know them! Do I know them?".
I urge everyone who enjoys sunbathing to follow the 7W rules. Above all, I recommend them to people who have a particular type of beauty, such as those with blonde or red hair, fair skin or freckles, and who have a family history of melanoma or other skin cancers, since the risk of the disease increases mainly in these people - explains Grażyna Kamińska-Winciorek, MD, PhD, a dermatologist-venereologist specialist from the Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Oncohaematology at the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Oncology Centre in Gliwice.
An appeal to young women
Data from the National Cancer Registry shows that over the past 20 years, Poland's incidence of melanoma has increased dramatically. This trend is particularly evident among women - in ladies aged 22-44, the incidence of melanoma has increased almost threefold, while a twofold increase in the incidence of this cancer has been recorded for men. In addition, the data shows that mortality in young people oscillates around 15%. Meanwhile, the early stage of the disease offers a chance of cure for 97% patients. Unfortunately, awareness of melanoma among Poles is still insufficient.
This year, we particularly want to encourage young people and especially young women to learn about the basic principles of melanoma prevention and to put these principles into practice, as they are now at particular risk due to their lifestyle - explains Prof. Dr. med. Piotr Rutkowski, Head of the Department of Tumours of Soft Tissues, Bone and Melanomas at the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Oncology Centre - Institute in Warsaw, Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Melanoma Academy. - Dhe week of melanoma awareness is why we have invited artists known and loved by the younger generation to take part.
Melanoma - how to recognise it?
It is worth emphasising that early diagnosis of melanoma gives as much as 97% chance of a complete cure. Unfortunately, patients present to the doctor at an advanced stage of the disease
and, although all modern drugs are available in Poland and patients are treated according to the best world standards, the possibilities of fighting melanoma are already limited due to the very aggressive course of the disease.
Early diagnosis of melanoma, in many cases, means self-detection by the patient. This is not difficult - it is enough to regularly observe one's body and pay attention to whether an existing or a new birthmark has certain melanoma-like characteristics, as determined by the ABCDE criteria. If so, you should see a doctor immediately. These features are:
A - asymmetry e.g. a birthmark 'spilling over' to one side,
B - edges ragged, uneven, having coarsening,
C - red or black and non-uniform in colour
D - large size, lesion size: more than 0.5 cm,
E - evolution, i.e. progressive changes occurring in the nevus.
You can test your own ability to recognise melanoma with an interactive game, which is available on the Melanoma Academy website:
The condition of their skin should be monitored very carefully by those using tanning beds. Especially those under the age of 30. The risk of melanoma in young people who use tanning beds more than once a month increases by as much as 75%! This is because the radiation from a tanning bed is about 10-15 times stronger than that from the sun on the hottest day. We should also remember that skin burns in childhood, caused by UV radiation, also directly translate into the risk of cancer in the future. - underlines Prof. Dr. med. Piotr Rutkowski.
For six years now, Melanoma Awareness Week has been implemented as part of the "I know it! Do I know them?", which is organised by the Melanoma Academy, a scientific section of the Polish Society of Oncological Surgery, operating under the auspices of the Polish Society of Dermatology, the Polish Society of Clinical Oncology and the Polish Society of Pathologists. Each year, the aim of Melanoma Awareness Week is to draw attention to the need for regular skin examinations. Building awareness of the need for melanoma prevention remains important. Especially among young people, in whom the incidence of this cancer has been increasing in recent years. Thanks to an educational campaign that has been running for six years now, knowledge of melanoma is increasing among Poles, but initiatives should still be taken to change public attitudes towards prevention of this cancer.
Source: Melanoma Academy