By Lilli Dubler, Building Kentucky
For more than three decades, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Kentucky has offered free skin cancer screenings to Kentucky State Fair attendees.
“The fair setting is pretty simple and convenient – you don’t have to think ahead or schedule an appointment, and anyone can come. It doesn’t matter if you have insurance, you don’t have insurance, everyone is welcome to get a skin cancer screening here,” Anthem Medical Director Dr. Lori Caloia said
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, with more than 5 million cases diagnosed annually.
Each year, skin cancer screenings and other free health exams are available to Kentuckians who attend the fair. Anthem and its partners hope to reach individuals who don’t receive regular screenings and encourage follow-up visits if necessary.
“We’ve had individuals that were walking by looking for their booth where they were supposed to be volunteering. The doctor welcomed a woman in, and she had no idea she had a spot on the back of her arm that turned out to be melanoma,” Kentucky Cancer Program Cancer Control Specialist Pam Temple-Jennings said. “Just by walking by and the doctor stopping her, we made a difference in this woman’s life. That’s what we’re hoping to do for people.”
Roughly 20 Americans die from melanoma every day, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. When detected early, the five-year survival rate for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is 99 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.
“The importance of skin cancer screenings is that we want to identify a cancer early. If you catch the cancer early, it’s usually treatable much easier and much more cost-effective. You may be able to remove the cancer with a procedure or surgery and not need any other treatment if you catch it early enough,” Caloia added.
