Employees at Monument Health volunteer to conduct skin cancer screenings as part of Melanoma Monday

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Having healthy skin and maintaining it is never a bad thing. Today was Melanoma Monday which is a national awareness program created by the American Academy of Dermatology to help encourage Americans to get a skin cancer screening.

To help spread awareness, Monument Health had patients come in for free skin cancer screenings. The organization had several employees volunteer to conduct screenings.

Monument Health physician Kristin Hockhousen says it’s a good idea for people to take care of their skin all year long. When outside, she recommends sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher and applying it every 2 hours.

It’s also recommended to wear a hat or sunglasses as skin cancer can develop on the eyelids.

Hockhousen says it’s vital for people to get regular skin cancer screenings.

“Over 1 in 5 Americans will actually have a skin cancer in their lifetime. Here in South Dakota, we’re at a high risk. We have a lot of sunshine. We have a lot of people who work outdoors and it’s really important that we take a good look at their skin and make sure there’s nothing concerning,” Hockhousen says.

Hockhousen says if you have a spot on your skin that is growing, bleeds on its own, and doesn’t heal on its own then it may be time for a screening.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2024 KEVN. All rights reserved.