- The training in using dermatoscopes has helped us a lot, says Androula Loannou, doctor at Tenhults health center.
The health centers in the county today also have a camera with which they can take digital pictures.
If they are unsure whether the skin change may be cancer, they can send pictures to a dermatologist at the dermatology clinic at Ryhov County Hospital and get a quick answer.
Sharp increase in skin cancer
The number of skin cancer cases has multiplied in the last 20-30 years.
In 2001, 69 cases of skin melanoma in the county were reported to the cancer register, last year the number was 184. During the past five years, 886 cases of invasive melanoma have been reported to the cancer register from Jönköping County.
In addition, 684 cases of melanoma in situ, the pre-stage of melanoma, have also been reported.
Every year, about 500 people in Sweden die as a result of skin melanoma, which was previously called malignant melanoma, but between 80-85 percent of all patients are cured.
Skin melanoma occurs at all ages, but is rare in children and adolescents.
The average age at which the diagnosis is made is in Sweden in the 60s and 70s.