EUROMELANOMA
2014 + 2015 Public Awareness Campaigns
Véronique del Marmol - MD, PhD
Head dpt Dermatology Hop Erasme
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Chair Euromelanoma Europe
About Euromelanoma
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Euromelanoma exists to promote and share information on skin cancer
prevention, early diagnosis and treatment
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Since our initiation in Belgium in 1999, our campaigning has now spread to
33 countries across Europe
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It is led by a network of European dermatologists who generously serve this
cause for free. Our work is made possible through the kind support of the
healthcare industry
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Our primary focus is on raising public awareness and education on skin
cancer related issues, but Euromelanoma also (through centralised
gathering of clinical data) produces associated publications to share
knowledge and best practices amongst skin cancer professionals
The impact of Euromelanoma
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The Euromelanoma website has received over one million visitors since the
campaign started. With over 50,000 unique visitors each month,
www.euromelanoma.org has become a valuable source of information for the public
on skin cancer prevention and treatment
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Since the Euromelanoma was founded in 1999, our network of dermatologists have
screened over 450,000 Europeans for skin cancer amongst the European public, no
doubt saving countless lives.
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A survey performed within the Euromelanoma network has shown that our
campaigning has:
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Increased public awareness of skin cancer, skin cancer risks and preventive measures
Improved the demand for skin examination, leading to increased presentation of skin tumors in early or even
pre-malignant stages
Generated extensive media coverage of the campaign and increased penetration of the preventive message
amongst our target populations
Improved interdisciplinary cooperation (amongst dermatologists, oncologists, plastic surgeons)
Our Campaign for 2014
The patient experience
Every patient is different, but the journey to learning more about
skin cancer usually involves the same four fundamental questions.
A new perspective on an old problem
We can redefine the patient journey into four key stages:
Understanding patient denial
Subjective perception
The way an individual
subjectively perceives the risk
of cancer happening
corresponds only
approximately to the real risk.
Cancer can be a death threat
– it is a fundamental trauma.
2014 campaign
A survey on delay: 450 European dermatolgists
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Only 1 in 5 people know the signs of skin cancer
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Over 77% of dermatologists observed their patients delay seeking
professional advice even after spotting the signs of skin cancer
(two thirds of patients delay seeing a doctor for more than three months)
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Doctors believe 37% of patients who delay through denial would see an
increase in life expectancy of between one and five years, and more
than half would see an increase of over five years.
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Men over the age of 50 are the most likely group to exhibit patient
denial.
Euromelanoma Press release 2014
Our Campaign for 2015
Euromelanoma Campaign 2015
This year’s campaign builds on 2014’s, focusing on another aspect of the
final stages of the patient journey.
Once we have overcome patient denial, we need to reduce other factors that
cause patient delay.
Cancer research carried out as part of the UK’s NAEDI (National Awareness
and Early Diagnosis Initiative) showed that delayed presentation by patients
is caused by a wide variety of reasons, including:
I’ll wait and see
if it goes away
I’ll manage it
myself
I don’t want to waste
anybody’s time
It’s nothing
serious
I’m too
busy
We are trying to overcome these reasons to prevent deadly delay.
That is the basis of our campaign this year.
Euromelanoma Campaign 2015
Our campaign focus is to:
Reduce delayed diagnosis.
(and in particular, delayed presentation)
To achieve this, our campaign objectives are:
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Underline the seriousness of skin cancer and its increasing incidence
Promote urgency of presentation
Improve perceived access by bringing patients and doctors closer together
Give reassurance that early diagnosis leads to positive outcomes
Campaign Message
Campaign Materials
We have created a suite of creative materials to support this year’s campaign.
These include a series of distinct poster designs, a patient leaflet, some web
banner ads and a full campaign toolkit; which you can see over the next few
slides.
Of course, as ever, these materials are only intended as a starting point. They are
designed to support and supplement local activities.
Additional Posters
Campaign Leaflet
A double-sided 8-section leaflet
containing detailed information
about the campaign.
Toolkit
Each Euromelanoma country chair will be provided with a full toolkit of materials to
help generate maximum impact in 2015.
This will include:
Poster
Leaflet
Microsite
Media
documents
All country chairs have been invited to a workshop in Brussels on 3rd November,
where the new campaign will be fully introduced and best practice and
experience can be shared with support and advice on running local campaigns.
Thank you.