Dr. Steve Fine On split screen, Club co-President Brad and AG Pam
On August 6th the Rotary Club of Kittery had an eye-opening presentation on the dangers of melanoma from Dr. Steve Fine, Rotary Club of Peabody Massachusetts and President of the Melanoma Education Foundation. Far more than a risk to fair skinned, older sun worshipers, the silent killer is a much more broad based threat than we had thought.
Expecting a discussion of a threat to older members of the population , we were surprised when right from the start Steve's talk began with their focus on young people, education programs for middle and high school students. Steve's talk clarified that melanoma can infect anyone over about 10 years of age, all skin types and ethnic backgrounds, and all parts of the body, whether exposed to sunlight or ultraviolet rays or not, undetected and untreated, it is fatal. A slide of young people who had all died of melanoma, including Steve's young son, made the point. Steve stressed that although there are health risks that are discussed with young people, skin cancer, and specifically the deadly melanoma, is not one ~ and yet the fatality rate is much higher than other diseases.
The Steve's presentation covered the ways to detect melanomas through self examination and the ways to reduce risk. He explained the different types and appearances of melanoma and the surprising rate of growth of some of the cancers. Steve stressed the need for early detection and self advocating required. While melanomas can develop anywhere , and on anyone, certain activities definitely increase the probability of occurrence, including direct sun exposure and the use of tanning beds, and the inadequate us of sun screens.
Steve provided the following links for more information:
Melanoma Education Foundation Web page
https://www.skincheck.org
31 minute Early Detection/prevention video: https://bit.ly/3hipmFK
16-minute High School Student video: https//bit.ly/2CBzdoT
22-minute Middle School Student video: https//bit.ly/2yv32Ep
30 minute Health Teacher Training Video:https://bit.ly/3jgzejP