After the United States Surgeon General recently called on health advocates to act on the prevention of skin cancer, addressing it as a major public health problem, the founder and CEO of Advanced Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery, Dr. Matt Leavitt, has pledged his full support of this call to action, and is calling on other organizations to do the same.
Considering that his practice has been treating a significantly higher number of melanoma cases over the past few years, Leavitt, also a practicing board certified dermatologist, recognizes that this is “a major public health issue,” and that organizations such as his are compelled to “fully support the surgeon general’s issued warning about skin cancer and the call to action to prevent the disease.”
According to Leavitt, throughout its history, ADCS has taken the lead in educating and providing services to help raise awareness to prevent skin cancer by ” . . . getting our providers out into the community.” One such project is a partnership ADCS formed with Walgreens, which is an example of a successful community outreach program, as it provides easy and accessible skin cancer screenings to the public, free of charge. According to Leavitt, his practice’s providers go to Walgreens stores to conduct the screenings for anyone who wants one. In addition, they provide educational information on disease prevention.
The Surgeon General’s call to action aims to increase awareness of what is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States in order to reduce its risk and prevalence, as most cases of skin cancer are preventable. In order to accomplish this, the call for action document presented five strategic goals to support skin cancer prevention in the U.S.: increase opportunities for sun protection in outdoor settings; provide individuals with the information they need to make healthy choices about ultraviolet radiation exposure; promote policies that advance the national goal of preventing skin cancer; reduce injury caused by indoor tanning; and strengthen research, surveillance, monitoring, and evaluation related to skin cancer prevention.
