TV personalities set the example on Melanoma Day

Four TV personalities this morning had their bodies checked at Boffa Hospital's dermatology department to raise awareness about the importance of screening as Europe celebrates Melanoma Monday. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Peter da Coutros, Claudette Pace, Eileen Montesin and Ruth Casingena were among those to be screened for any unusual blemishes at the Melanoma Skin Cancer Screening Clinic, which was organised for the ninth consecutive year.

Parliamentary Secretary for Health Joe Cassar pointed out that statistics show that 68 people succumbed to melanoma between 1993 and 2006, while a total of 336 new cases of the potentially deadly diseases surfaced between 1993 and 2005. He said for a country the size of Malta, these statistics were of concern.

Melanoma is fatal in some 20 per cent of cases and the prognosis depends a lot on the thickness of the lesion, making early detection of utmost importance.