SIU Med School to Offer Free Skin Cancer Screenings

The Division of Dermatology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and the SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute at SIU will conduct a free skin cancer screening in Springfield. The screening is 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. this Saturday, May 6, in the School’s Dermatology Clinic (Suite 2300, second floor) in the SIU Clinics Building, 751 N. Rutledge, Springfield.

Individuals will be seen by faculty from the medical school's Division of Dermatology and SIU dermatology resident physicians. They will be screening, checking exposed parts of the body, for common skin cancers as well as the more serious melanoma cancer and actinic keratosis. The event also will offer free educational information about skin cancer. Dr. Jonathan Goldfarb, associate professor and chief of dermatology, is organizing the event.

Skin cancer affects 1 in 5 Americans, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. More than 1 million new cases are diagnosed each year. Of these, more than 111,900 are melanoma, a cancer that claims nearly 8,000 lives annually.

Individuals need to pre-register for the screening in advance by calling 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays at 545-7908 . Parking is available in the adjoining parking garage.