Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Melanoma can be a deadly disease when diagnosed at an advanced stage, but survival rates are > 98% when detected early and treated. Melanoma often develops with a visible, preclinical phase, hence there are opportunities for early detection via visually inspecting the skin. Skin self-examination (SSE) followed by physician-led clinical skin examination (CSE) are effective means to detect early signs of melanoma1. Middle-age men are often diagnosed with more advanced melanoma, have worse prognosis, and face higher mortality compared to women in the same age groups and younger men. Melanoma early detection interventions targeting men's SSE and CSE behaviours are sparse, primarily because male gender and older age are not generally regarded as risk factors for melanoma. Yet, approximately 60% of all deaths from melanoma occur in men of 50 years of age or older [SEER database; 2013]. Most available melanoma prevention interventions targeting SSE and CSE utilize an in-person educational model, which is time and resource-intensive, and potentially less amenable to men. There is an urgent need for low-cost, effective (evidence-based), and easily accessible interventions targeting middle-age men's SSE and CSE, as part of the overall effort to decrease melanoma-related mortality in this population.