Forty four hospitals will be holding free screenings on Wednesday May 11 as new warnings have been sounded by the Portuguese skin cancer association (APCC).
According to secretary general Osvaldo Correia “more than 12,000 new cases of skin cancer” will be diagnosed this year – around 1,000 of which will be “new cases of melanoma”.
May 11 is Euromelanoma Day and since 2000 national hospitals have taken part by providing free screenings.
Anyone interested in going along can consult the list of venues here (click here).
In the Algarve, screenings will be taking place at Portimão and Faro hospitals as well as at the Faro practice of Dr Clarisse Rebelo.
As the APCC explains, every year around 150 Portuguese die from skin cancer, which is particularly prevalent in pale-skinned people, redheads and those with freckles and/ or moles.
According to a recent U.S. study, factor 30 sunblocks not only provide good protection against burning, they are clinically proven to prevent the onset of melanoma.
As to the use of free screenings, Diário de Notícias explains that in 2015 “77 suspicious cases” were flagged during hospitals’ Euromelanoma drive.
