65 people get tested on Melanoma Monday

Fewer people than last year went to be tested at Boffa Hospital on Melanoma Monday yesterday.

However, the response was still positive, with 65 people attending to have various moles examined compared to 100 last year, Department of Dermatology head Lawrence Scerri said yesterday.

He said a number of genuine cases of possible melanoma had come to light, and on the whole it had been a very worthwhile exercise.

Last week the department announced that like every year on Melanoma Monday, it was urging people to make an appointment to have any suspicious moles checked. Dr Scerri said people of all ages - from children to senior citizens - took up the department's offer.

Melanoma is considered to be the most serious form of skin cancer and might develop anywhere on the body, although it is most common on the chest in men and on the legs in women. It usually appears as a brown or black patch or lump with irregular features - it is usually asymmetrical, has an irregular border, consists of more than one colour and is larger than six millimetres in diameter.

Between 1993 and 2003 this form of cancer claimed the lives of 51 people in Malta, while a total of 258 new cases were reported over the period.

Dr Scerri stressed that people should be aware of the risks of the potentially deadly cancer throughout the year and not only during the campaign. People could make appointments to go to the Dermatology Unit at any time. The department uses a system under which the most urgent cases are seen to first, but anybody who has a mole can have it tested.

Melanoma can start within an existing mole or from scratch, and people should keep their eyes open for changes in moles. If caught early there is a high rate of success in curing the disease, but the success rate diminishes the longer it takes to be diagnosed.