Melanoma Monday: The First Day of a Lifelong Habit of Examining Your Skin

Melanoma is deadly, and its incidence is on the rise. Yet most Americans don't know the warning signs of this serious form of skin cancer, fewer than half ever examine their skin for signs of it, and only a third even know what melanoma is.

Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month is an annual public service campaign by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) to increase awareness of skin cancer with volunteer member dermatologists throughout the country conducting free skin cancer screenings in their communities. "Melanoma Monday," observed on May 1, gives special emphasis to the early detection of this very deadly, yet treatable, form of skin cancer.

To help urge Americans to begin a lifelong habit of examining their skin on this special day, the AAD and Public Communications Inc. (PCI) created a Melanoma Monday media relations program, which drove home the message of the danger of melanoma and also publicized the 1,500 screenings that would take place during the month-long observance.

An estimated 60 million Americans received the AAD's message about Melanoma Monday during April and May, based on the media relations component of the overall campaign. A total of 335 placements were secured.

Melanoma is deadly, and its incidence is on the rise. Yet most Americans don't know the warning signs of this serious form of skin cancer, fewer than half ever examine their skin for signs of it, and only a third even know what melanoma is.

Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month is an annual public service campaign by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) to increase awareness of skin cancer with volunteer member dermatologists throughout the country conducting free skin cancer screenings in their communities. "Melanoma Monday," observed on May 1, gives special emphasis to the early detection of this very deadly, yet treatable, form of skin cancer.

To help urge Americans to begin a lifelong habit of examining their skin on this special day, the AAD and Public Communications Inc. (PCI) created a Melanoma Monday public relations program.

To determine the public's awareness of melanoma, a national public opinion survey of 1,000 adults was conducted prior to the campaign. The survey found that about a third (34 percent) could correctly identify melanoma as skin cancer and another 21 percent knew it was "some kind of cancer." The largest percentage (42 percent) did not know what melanoma is. More than half (54 percent) of the survey respondents said they never examine their skin for signs of melanoma. The most common reasons for not performing skin self-examination were "never think about it," "didn't know I should" and "don't know what to look for."

The objective of the campaign was to raise public awareness of melanoma and the importance of skin self-examination in preventing unnecessary deaths from this cancer. To help accomplish this objective, the AAD designated May 1 "Melanoma Monday" and urged Americans to consider it the first day of a lifelong habit of examining their skin. The strategy was to use May 1 as the dermatologist's version of the Great American Smokeout, a day on which smokers give up cigarettes, but instead of giving up a habit, the AAD was asking people to start one.

The campaign was national in scope and targeted all adults. The audience was reached in three ways: through the media, through local skin cancer screening programs in communities across the country, and through volunteer dermatologists.

The campaign's objective was achieved through a variety of program components and tactics including:

Melanoma Monday Logo: The design of a Melanoma Monday logo centered on the concept that Melanoma Monday should be the first day of a lifelong habit of skin self-examination. The logo included an illustration of an abstract figure self-examining in a mirror.

Honorary National Chairman: Former President Gerald Ford agreed to serve as honorary national chairman of Melanoma Monday. His participation was promoted to AAD members through association media.

Campaign Materials: Melanoma Monday campaign materials, including a program kit and poster for participating volunteer dermatologists holding skin cancer screenings, and press kit for the media, were developed incorporating the logo.

All-Member Mailing: A cover letter and registration form were developed for the AAD's skin cancer month all-member mailing. The cover letter announced Melanoma Monday and urged members to volunteer and participate in the skin cancer month screenings.

Poster Mailing: A follow-up letter and the Melanoma Monday poster were distributed to all AAD members. The letter again encouraged member participation in local screening programs.

American Cancer Society: A letter to all American Cancer Society leaders alerted local chapters to the AAD's activities for Melanoma Monday and the free screening programs, and encouraged their participation and support.

Screening Program Kit and Guidelines Manual: The AAD's Screening Program Kit and Program Guidelines Manual provided volunteer dermatologists who agreed to become local screening program directors with guidelines and materials to conduct and publicize a successful skin cancer screening. The 1995 kit and guidelines were revised to include new information about Melanoma Monday and public education materials about self-examination.

Program Director Follow-Up: More than 400 local screening program directors received telephone calls to offer support and assistance with their media relations activities. Instructions were provided on the effective use of news releases, public service announcements and a video news backgrounder (described below) to secure publicity for local screenings.

Press Kit Materials: Copy was developed for a Melanoma Monday press kit, which included a news release announcing Melanoma Monday, a news release announcing results of the national public opinion survey, and fact sheets on skin cancer, malignant melanoma and self-examination.

Radio Public Service Announcements: Four celebrity radio public service announcements about Melanoma Monday were produced and distributed. The Melanoma Monday PSAs featured Dick Cavett, Jason Robards, Joanna Cassidy and Steve Allen. Four previously recorded skin cancer PSAs also were distributed. The spokespersons for these were Reba McEntire, Ed Asner, Dixie Carter and Ned Beatty.

Video News Backgrounder: A video news backgrounder and B-roll footage about Melanoma Monday and self-examination were produced and distributed. The video was transmitted via satellite April 25, and more than 100 television stations requested videocassette copies of the VNR. Local television stations were offered interviews with AAD spokespersons.

Media Relations: The press kit was distributed to and follow-up was conducted with more than 1,000 media representing consumer and trade outlets.

An estimated 60 million Americans received the AAD's message about Melanoma Monday during April and May based on the documented results of the media relations component of the campaign. A total of 335 placements were secured including: CNN, ABC Radio Network, Ladies' Home Journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Gannett News Service and 228 airings of the video news backgrounder.

More than 1,500 dermatologists, hospitals and corporations requested information for local screening programs held in communities across the country with a total of 88,934 people screened. More than 800,000 Americans have participated in the AAD's screening program since 1985 with almost 10 percent resulting in a skin cancer diagnosis including over 8,000 cases of melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. The AAD believes the success of this campaign was an important step in educating the public and lowering the number of melanoma deaths in this country.