Free skin cancer screenings at Portland Melanoma Walk, May 12

May is Melanoma Awareness Month. Please help spread the word by sharing this post with your friends and family.

If you live in the Portland area and haven't yet signed up for the AIM at Melanoma 5k on Saturday, May 12, the walk's organizers have recently added free skin cancer screenings by the Portland Dermatology Clinic to the event. Save yourself a trip to the dermatologist, then stay and walk for a good cause.

A few reasons why you need a skin check:

• Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common form of cancer for young people 15-29.
• The survival rate for patients whose melanoma is detected early is about 99 percent. The survival rate falls to 15 percent for those with advanced disease.
• The number of women under age 40 diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma has more than doubled in the last 30 years; the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma among women under age 40 has increased almost 700 percent.
• If you've used a tanning bed, you're 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma than those who haven't.

For more information, visit the AIM at Melanoma Portland website. Can't make it? Consider sponsoring me for the walk.