News

April 22, 2014

Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Center offers 19th annual skin cancer screenings

Appointments for free screenings now available for May 20 and 21 at Saint Anne’s Hospital’s Hudner Oncology Center

Fall River, MA – Are you planning to enjoy New England’s long-awaited summer with time at the beach, in the garden, or by the pool? Do you play outdoor sports, or enjoying summer sports and leisure activities? If so, it’s a good time to advantage of Saint Anne's Hospital Regional Cancer Center’s 19th annual free skin cancer screenings.

Held annually in conjunction with the American Academy of Dermatology, Saint Anne’s screenings will be held on Tuesday, May 20, and Wednesday, May 21, 2014, from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Hudner Oncology Center, corner of Osborn and Forest Streets, Fall River.

Board-certified dermatologists Arthur Daily, M.D., and Richard Waldman, M.D., of Fall River, will conduct the screenings.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 1,800 Massachusetts and nearly 300 Rhode Island residents will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in 2014.  Cancer of the skin, including melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, is the most common of all cancers, accounting for nearly half of all cancers – more than cancers of the prostate, breast, lung, colon, uterus, ovaries, and pancreas combined.

The good news is: Skin cancer can be found and treated early. Make an appointment for a free skin screening if you notice:

  • any change on the skin, especially in the size or color of a mole or other darkly pigmented growth or spot, or a new growth 
  • scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or change in the appearance of a bump or nodule 
  • the spread of pigmentation beyond its border such as dark coloring that spreads past the edge of a mole or mark 
  • a change in sensation, itchiness, tenderness, or pain

The most common malignant skin tumors are: basal cell cancer, which usually develop on the face and ears; squamous cell cancer, which most commonly appear on sun-exposed areas of the body, such as face, ear, neck, lip, and hand; and melanoma, less common but more dangerous than basal or squamous cell. In almost all cases, nearly all skins cancers are curable if found in the early stages. Previous screenings held at Saint Anne’s have revealed many cases of skin cancers, including basal cell, squamous cell, and melanoma.

About Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Center
Nationally accredited by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons as a comprehensive community cancer program, Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Center provides the expertise of university cancer centers with the care and convenience of a community setting to patients at its sites in Fall River and North Dartmouth.

As a provider of comprehensive oncology services, Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Care offers advanced radiation therapy; hematology, chemotherapy, biotherapy, and other medical oncology therapies; access to select national clinical trials through the National Cancer Institute and Dana-Farber/Brigham & Women’s CancerCare; numerous patient and family education and support programs; free health screening activities; and community and professional education.