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Although it is recommended to get tested for different viruses or diseases, medical scientists believe skin cancer screening might not be effective.
We consult doctors for everything
If you’re experiencing any signs of a health problem, whether we’re talking about a simple sneeze or a bothering cough, muscle pains, headaches or even a new mole, you are advised to consult a doctor. It might be nothing or it might help you discover a disease in an early stage, which means more chances of recovering. However, speaking about moles, it seems that getting a full-body visual screening could be completely inefficient or not even very safe.
Skin cancer screening is puzzling scientists
Although researchers could not establish for sure whether the practice is harmful for patients or whether it brings them any benefits, as there is no proof so far to support these, they chose to remain neutral and not make any recommendation neither for or against body screenings.
Skin cancers, although dangerous, are rarely fatal. The only type of skin cancer that can cause death is Melanoma. This type of cancer affects about 68,000 people each year and more than 9,200 do not survive the disease.
According to the estimates of the Preventive Services Task Force, a number of 74,000 people have developed or will develop melanoma this year. Almost 10,000 of them will most likely not survive.
The goal of the research conducted by the USPSTF was to find out whether full-body cancer screening could be beneficial for patients, whether it could help them get better or somehow make a difference in the rate of survival among people with melanoma.
Screenings might not make any difference
However, although they have been putting together many studies concerning this particular type of cancer, different types of diagnosis and treatments, they couldn’t find whether the practice of screening is of any help for patients.
On the other hand the results didn’t show that the screening would have a negative influence on the outcome either. Basically, whether you do them or not, might not make any difference.
In conclusion, further research is needed in order to get a better understanding of a full-body screening for melanoma and the influences it could or couldn’t have on a patient’s health.
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