Dermatology team support skin cancer education event launch
Colleagues from UHDB's Dermatology team are touring around community events across Derby and Burton to deliver skin education, as part of BBC Radio Derby's Colin Bloomfield Sun Safe campaign.
The campaign is marking 10 years since Radio Derby presenter and Derby County commentator Colin died aged 33 from melanoma skin cancer - with UHDB supporting Radio Derby's drive to educate the community about the importance of sun safety and skin awareness through a series of events which are open to the public.
Rolls-Royce was the venue for the first of these education events on Wednesday (7 May), which saw eight members of the UHDB Dermatology team volunteer their time to meet with Rolls-Royce staff, demonstrate how they can examine their own skin for any signs or symptoms of skin cancer, and pass on key information about prevention and how to stay safe in the sun.
If the medical professional conducting the session did have any concerns about a mole or lesion seen in a demonstration, they were also able to advise the person to contact their GP for further advice or a referral to a dermatologist.
Dr Tanya Bleiker, Consultant Dermatologist, has been collaborating closely with Radio Derby to ensure as many people as possible across Derbyshire and East Staffordshire can be seen throughout this run of events - and she was pleased with the impact made on this opening day at Rolls-Royce.
She said: "The main thing with these sessions is to raise awareness of early detection, because if we can detect skin cancer early then we can treat it at an early stage. It's also about sun protection, because we know that skin cancers are preventable, so we are raising awareness about skin protection and making sure we cover ourselves up in the sun.
"It was great. Everyone at Rolls-Royce was really welcoming, and we had lots of people coming to see us to learn about how to examine their skin. It was really nice to hear that people appreciated us as a Dermatology team at UHDB, and that they remember the help we have given some of them in the past. One man actually made the effort to come back and show an appointment letter from 15 years ago and said, 'look, I saw you 15 years ago and I remember coming to see you'. It was lovely, a really nice thing to do."
There are several further events open to the public which are taking place in the coming weeks (full details and timings below), with skin safe charity Skcin also involved to support the campaign - just as they and UHDB were when the original Colin Bloomfield Melanoma Appeal was launched in January 2015, with Colin's backing.
Marie Tudor, CEO of Skcin, said: "We have worked with the team at UHDB because of Dr Tanya Bleiker and the team. [Having their support] has made such a difference to an organisation as committed as we are, working in dermatology to get early diagnosis and prevention really nailed down and out to the general public. So this type of public engagement is great."
The remaining skin cancer education events taking place as part of this campaign are:
- Age UK Chaddesden Park Community Centre, Chaddesden, Derby DE21 6LN - Wednesday 14 May, 2pm - 4.30pm
- Meadowside Leisure Centre, High Street, Burton upon Trent DE14 1TL - Thursday 22 May, 2pm - 4.30pm
- Whitworth Centre, Station Road, Darley Dale, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 2EQ - Wednesday 28 May, 2pm - 4.30pm
- Derbyshire County Cricket Club, The County Ground, Derby DE21 6DA - Friday 6 June, 6pm
This week is also Sun Awareness Week >, which seeks to share the same messages around the importance of sun protection and skin awareness, particularly as we move into a period of warm weather, when people will typically spend more time outside and exposed to the sun. Protective clothing, seeking shade — particularly during the hottest hours of the day — and liberally applying sunscreens with a minimum SPF of 30 are among the best forms of sun protection.
Image courtesy of Rolls-Royce