Recognizing Skin Cancer Can Save Your Life

A picture may be worth a thousand words, and now it may also save your life. Viewing images of skin cancer — the most common form of cancer in the United States — prompted people to examine their own skin for signs of the malady more frequently and more precisely, according to a review of studies published in 2013 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

"Visual images capture our attention and are persuasive," says study coauthor Laurie Hoffman-Goetz, PhD, professor emerita in the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, in a university news release. "They also help us to learn and remember."

Researchers hope this proactive response to skin cancer images will help to promote early detection. "Incorporating images into clinical practice when educating patients can be a powerful tool in the fight against skin cancer," Dr. Hoffman-Goetz adds.

Click through to learn how to recognize skin cancer.

Additional reporting by Ingrid Strauch.