Destination Healthy Skin Mid-Season Update: More than 1,200 Free Screenings to Date!

Our 2024 Destination Healthy Skin (DHS) free screening and education program has reached its mid-season break. Each year, the program brings hope and progress in the fight against skin cancer, helping thousands of people along the way. 

Our 2024 season began on April 21, and as of July 3, we have hit the following milestones: 

• Our volunteer dermatologists have performed 1,264 free skin cancer screenings,  identifying 539 suspected skin cancers and precancers including 21 suspected melanomas. 

• The dermatologists also found 148 atypical moles, a melanoma risk factor. Participants with atypical moles were cautioned to keep a close eye on their skin.

We’ve also reached a new program milestone: The Skin Cancer Foundation has provided 32,000 free skin cancer screenings since our program first launched. That’s a big deal! 

A Lifesaving Journey

This year, Destination Healthy Skin started off with three days of screenings in Kansas City, Kansas.  

Next, the RV traveled to Tempe, Arizona. From there we headed westward to Encinitas, California for several days of screening and education events, then headed north for screening events in Roseburg and Portland, Oregon to close out the month of May.  

June began with screenings in Seattle and Richland, Washington, before heading east for events in Park City, Utah and Idaho Falls, Idaho. Then the RV continued east to Minneapolis and on to Rockford, Illinois, where we finished up the first part of the season on July 3.  

Arizona Highlights 

From May 1 to 3, we kicked off Skin Cancer Awareness Month with screening events in Tempe. We are grateful to the dermatologists from Saguaro Dermatology, who once again volunteered their time to screen patients. The first day, Carsten R. Hamann, MD, PhD, performed a full day of skin exams and the next day we welcomed his brother, Dathan Hamann, MD, to the RV. The doctors had a brotherly competition to see who could screen the most people (Dathan: 58; Carsten: 60). On May 3, Michael McBride, DO, screened 56 people throughout the day, and identified a suspected melanoma.

We were also grateful to have melanoma warriors Katie, Candice and Ann volunteer to share their stories and lend a hand. 

 “Skin checks are a must! Putting it off is a risk that can lead to serious skin cancers, like melanoma,” Katie told us. “DHS was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had as a 10-year survivor of melanoma and skin cancer advocate.”

“I had the best time helping out at DHS this year,” said Candice. “As a stage IV melanoma survivor, it’s important to encourage others to get a skin check. No demographic is immune. It was nice to see people from all walks of life and all ages get free screenings and skin cancer education.” 

While there, Katie, Candice and Ann recorded a fun video for social media.  

Sun Safety in Sunny California 

Our next stop was beautiful Encinitas at the Sun Bum West Coast Office & Concept Store, for four days of events. Big thanks to Bari Cunningham, MD, Laura Scott, MD, Elizabeth Cooper, MD and Jenna Boraok, MD for volunteering their time for this vital public health service.  

Our event manager, Amy, heard several stories from people who said that they spend a lot of time in the sun, surfing and swimming, and even though they protect themselves, they still get some sun damage, especially when they forget to reapply. This is a perfect example of why sunscreen alone cannot fully protect you from skin cancer. We recommend a complete approach, including sun protective clothing, wide-brimmed hats, eyewear and seeking shade, in addition to vigilant sunscreen application. 

One man told the event workers that he used to be a surfer and had so many skin cancer surgeries that doctors had performed skin grafts on one side of his neck and face. 

Another man was so happy to get screened because he was worried about a spot and was leaving the country the following day. He was grateful that he got to start his trip with peace of mind!  

What Destination Healthy Skin Means to the People We Serve 

At every event, participants have told us how grateful they are to get screened, learn more about skin cancer prevention and receive free skin care and sun protection products. Here are just a few comments from this year’s participants:  

 

Urgent: You Can Help Save Destination Healthy Skin

We’ve launched the Save Destination Healthy Skin campaign to raise funds for the purchase of a new RV to keep DHS on the road, screening people around the country and saving lives.

Urgent Need: DHS cannot continue with a 14-year-old RV. Replacing the RV for our 2025 season will keep our free skin cancer screenings going strong for years to come. 

You can help, with a donation of any amount.

Double Your Impact: From now until August 17 every dollar donated to Save Destination Healthy Skin- up to $25,000 - will be matched by our lead sponsor, Massage Envy. This gives your donation double the impact.  
 

Onward in August  

In August, we stop in Indianapolis, IN, for screenings at the Colts training camp, and then head to Ohio, Illinois and New York City. We move down the east coast in October, with screenings until late November! Big thanks to our 2024 program sponsors, EltaMD Skin Care; Jergens Natural Glow; L’Oréal Paris; Castle Biosciences; dsm-firmenich; Sun Bum; Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group and Merck & Co., Inc., whose support fuels the 2024 journey around the country.

Stay tuned for more updates in the fall.

In the meantime, enjoy this collection of images to get a glimpse of the places we’ve been and the wonderful people we’ve met along the way!