each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than cancers of breast , prostate , lung , and colon combined , with an estimated direct cost of treatment in the us totaling more than 1.7 billion dollars annually and total costs ( direct + indirect ) of over 5.5 billion dollars annually . skin cancer has been officially classified as an epidemic by the center for disease control . melanoma , the most lethal form of skin cancer , kills approximately one person each hour in the us despite being easily detectable and 95100% curable if treated early . melanoma incidence is currently increasing by 2.5% annually , faster than any other preventable cancer ; mortality has increased by approximately 44% since 1973 , and it remains among the top causes of life years lost to preventable cancer . up to 90% of deadly melanomas may ultimately be linked to sun exposure during the childhood years [ 47 ] , and solar radiation is now classified as a  known human carcinogen, with ultraviolet rays joining the ranks of other known cancer - causing elements such as tobacco , arsenic , and radon . because sun exposure during youth appears particularly important to melanoma risk , and because habits and attitudes pertaining to sun protection behavior are presumably formed early in life , it is crucial to teach our youth the importance of sun safety and skin cancer awareness . with concern for their high - risk local population of orange county , california , medical students at the university of california , irvine ( uci ) developed a program to teach students in grades 612 about the importance of sun protection and early detection of skin cancer . the project was created in memory of joel myres , a beloved uci medical student who passed away from melanoma which first presented when he was 16  years old . with students like joel in mind , uci medical students created a 50-min interactive curriculum based on a review of the literature and other existing skin cancer educational programs [ 915 ] . the curriculum educates about skin structure and function , effects of solar radiation , the three major kinds of skin cancer , skin cancer self - screening for earlier detection , and tools for safer sun enjoyment . it is well interconnected with school lessons , drawing on student s skills in mathematics ( statistics , geometry ) , biological sciences ( anatomy of skin , uv radiation , concepts of cancer ) , critical thought ( group participation activity / analysis of images ) , and health ( sun safety practices , cancer screening ) among others . because a considerable portion of the young teen population may not be amenable to changing their sun habits , in addition to encouraging sun protection , the curriculum emphasizes the importance of early detection to empower the students with a memorable message :  spot a spot , save a life ! the program has been innovative in its ability to reach a substantial number of teens with little manpower , its message which strongly promotes early detection in addition to sun protective practices , and its concurrent education of medical students , teachers , and other community members . the program s success has been overwhelming ; begun as a local effort by three medical students educating 1,200 teens in 2003 , within 3  years the program grew into the national melanoma awareness project ( www.spotaspot.org ) , with over 25 medical school chapters educating over 14,000 students annually since 2005 . the program continues to flourish in 2009 , after two successive generations of student - run leadership have passed since its inception . in order to evaluate the efficacy of their outreach , in 20042005 , the uc irvine medical students surveyed 1,260 students in grades 612 at five orange county , ca public schools . briefly , surveys were completed before , immediately after , and 3  months following a single 50-min lecture . responses were combined into index scores for knowledge , attitude , and behavior categories and scores were compared across time points . we demonstrated significant , sustained improvement in knowledge and behavior scores from the first to third survey ( both p  <  0.001 ) . the success of this outreach highlights that medical students represent a vast and efficient source of enthusiasm and energy for public outreach endeavors . we quickly realized that one individual , in a single day of volunteerism , can teach approximately 180 students over six classroom periods . while professional groups may work tirelessly to recruit dermatologists for such outreach , they may be missing a valuable resource in medical students , who tend to have more flexible schedules , are not loosing income by volunteering , and often have personal connections with local public schools . furthermore , public school health programs , in the face of ubiquitous budget cuts , may be deterred from optional programs which encourage them to use the time of salaried school nurses as educators . while it has been shown that the majority of public schools would be interested in implementing a skin cancer educational policy or curriculum , budgetary constraints often preclude skin cancer awareness education - related expenses from being a top priority . however , when implemented through medical student volunteers , the cost of a skin cancer education program is limited to the negligible one - time cost of reproducing the curriculum slides . additionally , in training medical students to teach others about skin cancer , it is hoped that future physicians across all specialty interests may potentially develop increased awareness of melanoma . it has been shown that medical students may have relatively limited knowledge of skin cancer , often not focused upon in the standard curriculum [ 19 , 20 ] . though we have not specifically evaluated changes in medical student volunteers knowledge , attitudes , and behaviors , we hypothesize that beneficial effects would be seen and suggest this as a possible future area of study . furthermore , the exponential spread of the outreach message is impressive . on average , teens surveyed reported having shared what they learned from the educational session with 1.65 other individuals ; thus , the 680 respondents to this question shared what they learned with approximately 1,110 additional people . if this data can be extrapolated , the 14,000 teens that medical students now educate annually through the national melanoma awareness project may be reaching over 23,000 others ! anecdotally , in addition to one teen student who detected and had an early melanoma removed from his leg shortly after our educational intervention , one of our medical student volunteers detected an abnormal mole on her own back , also found to be a superficial melanoma . another medical student volunteer detected a melanoma on her relative s neck soon after beginning to teach the curriculum . each of these students directly attributed his or her heightened awareness to the outreach project , and these only represent a few of the local stories we have heard ; presumably , melanomas are also being detected all around the country as a result of this intervention . furthermore , our memorable slogan ,  spot a spot , save a life !  , will hopefully trigger students recall of the melanoma awareness message should they spot a suspicious lesion on themselves or loved ones in future years .
skin cancer is a serious societal problem , and public awareness outreach , including to youth , is crucial . 
 medical students have joined forces to educate adolescents about skin cancer with significant impacts ; even one 50-min interactive outreach session led to sustained changes in knowledge and behavior in a cohort of 1,200 adolescents surveyed . 
 medical students can act as a tremendous asset to health awareness public outreach efforts : enthusiastic volunteerism keeps education cost - effective , results in exponential spread of information , reinforces knowledge and communication skills of future physicians , and can result in tangible , life - saving benefits such as early detection of melanoma .