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#MelanomaAwareness #SunSmart
Beat Melanoma through Early Detection
May is Melanoma Awareness month and CANSA highlights the stories of two survivors, Naniki Seboni and Sonia Katzenberg, who are living with skin cancer, to help educate and promote early detection of cancer. Cancer patients are highly at risk for COVID-19 infection, and it is important to educate on lowering cancer risk during the pandemic, to reduce the number of people being diagnosed with cancer, making fewer people vulnerable to the virus.
Meet Naniki and Sonia in our awareness video:
We’re so grateful for the successful collaboration and partnership between CANSA, Novartis South Africa, Stellenbosch University and Medical Research Council (MRC) that led to this educational melanoma awareness video to share Naniki and Sonia’s stories and what skin checks to conduct. Our gratitude to Drs’ Bianca Tod and Willie Visser from Stellenbosch University for their valuable educational input. And to Novartis South Africa for their continuous support of our SunSmart campaign and health awareness activities.
Melanoma Facts
- Melanoma, though less common than other skin cancers, can be deadly.
- Exposure of the skin to excessive ultraviolet (UV) radiation in childhood, increases the risk of melanoma later in life.
- It may be possible to have a melanoma even if you haven’t had extreme UV exposure.
- Some melanomas are extremely aggressive and progress very rapidly within a few months.
- Early detection of melanoma is key to improved survival outcomes with 5-year survival rates being greater than 90% if detected early.
- Anyone, regardless of skin tone can get a melanoma.
When Naniki Seboni was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma, she was shocked, saying, “If anything, if you have ever heard the word ‘cancer’, it’s really associated with white people.” In denial she avoided treatment for six months but was fortunately referred to CANSA’s Facebook support group for cancer patients, CANSA Survivors – Champions of Hope. Naniki continues, “I sent a message on the group and complete strangers were supporting me, telling me young one you have to go in, you are too young to let this thing defeat you. I could have changed my entire destiny if I hadn’t gotten in contact with CANSA. CANSA literally saved my life.”
Sonia Katzenberg, living with melanoma over 15 years says, “I remember distinctly a couple of serious burns as a child. We fell asleep in the sun around the pool. So I didn’t take care of my skin. When we’re young we think we’re invincible but when it happens, and you come face to face with the statistical message you don’t want to hear that. Suddenly life becomes precious. I would never have thought that sunburn or sitting in the sun could have such far reaching and silent impact on one’s life.”
Early Detection Key - #FightingCancerTogether
Early detection is key when it comes to beating melanoma. While you’re at home during the lockdown, get in the habit of doing monthly skin checks using the ABCDE guidelines and get a friend or family member to check out of sight areas like the scalp, back and buttocks. Any irregularities should immediately be reported to a doctor or dermatologist.
During the lockdown, we are promoting more use of online tools to educate and we partnered with Miiskin. You can download this free user-friendly app for monitoring changes on skin, however it doesn’t replace a doctor’s visit and isn’t a diagnostic tool.
Fotofinder Screening - #CANSAscreening
CANSA looks forward to when the lockdown has moved to level 3 as then you’ll be able to book a FotoFinder screening to detect irregularities in moles at our CANSA Care Centres.
