Claire Marie Foundation to host free melanoma screenings in Baltimore area
BALTIMORE -- Melanoma is one of the most common cancers in adolescents and young adults.
Early detection is key to beating it.
There's a foundation in Maryland that's working to make sure that early detection happens.
Marianne Banister, co-founder and CEO of the Claire Marie Foundation, joined WJZ on Wednesday to provide information about its free full body skin screenings.
The first one is from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 11 at SCS Physicians, at 1407 York Road, Suite 100A, in Lutherville. Another one will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on March 11 at Belcara Health, located at 1427 Clarkview Road in Baltimore.
According to the Claire Marie Foundation, a study by Johns Hopkins researchers found that melanoma is more aggressive in young people than in older adults.
"Considering both these studies, with increased rates of diagnosis, it reinforces our belief that prevention through routine skin screening, along with other prevention methods, is a much better solution," Claire Marie Foundation said.
The Claire Marie Foundation found in its screening program that 16 percent of its nearly 1,400 young people screened by its dermatological partners, needed biopsy for suspicion of melanoma.
Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California found out that when detected early, adolescents and young adults have a much better chance of surviving melanoma than older adults.
But when melanoma has advanced to stage IV, when it is metastatic and has spread through the body, young people have only a 20% chance of surviving melanoma; a much worse rate than adults over the age of 40.
