By Erin DostalThe Daily Northwestern

Examining yourself for skin cancer with a partner’s help could save your life, according to an ongoing study at the Feinberg School of Medicine.

The study, headed by Dr. June Robinson, professor of clinical dermatology at Feinberg, found that patients whose spouses helped examine them for skin cancer were more likely than single patients to catch early signs of the disease.

This is because couples often support and motivate each other when it comes to health issues, Robinson said. Exams with a partner also allow patients to check more difficult-to-see areas, such as behind the ears or the back of the arms.

A 45-year-old melanoma patient was the inspiration for the study.

“He looked up at me and said, ‘Doc, would you mind getting my wife out of the waiting room? She’s better at all this health stuff than I am,'” Robinson said. “I said to myself, ‘That’s an interesting idea.’ “

The pilot study, funded by the Institute of Medicine of Chicago, was conducted using 130 couples. In order for a couple to be eligible for the study, at least one of the partners had to have melanoma, irregular moles or a family history of skin cancer.

Seeing many patients in the late stages of the disease and knowing they could have prevented it motivated Robinson to study melanoma, said Sara Ortiz, the study’s project coordinator.

While skin cancer is not among the most common types of cancer, it is highly hereditary.

“If my father had a melanoma, I should be somebody who would be paying attention to my moles so that I could catch the little buggers within an early enough point in time to get them treated,” Robinson said.

When conducting a self-exam, patients are asked to look for five symptoms: the ABCDEs of skin cancer: “A” for mole asymmetry, “B” for border irregularity, “C” for color variation, “D” for diameter of the mole, and “E” for evolution of the mole over time.

The idea is to catch the cancer in its early stages, and patients also are encouraged to use magnifying glasses and lights.

According to Robinson, about 62,000 Americans are diagnosed with melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, each year. Of that number, 8,000 will eventually die of the disease.

“Unlike other forms of cancer, the signs are visible,” said Dahlia Rockowitz, a Weinberg junior. “It makes sense for anyone in your life to know you’re susceptible.”

The next phase of the study will be to pinpoint the characteristics of the most successful couples, Robinson said. These findings will help find partners for those who don’t have one.

People who had a partner were more conscientious about conducting the exams, the study found.

“Somehow you’re more motivated … that the father of your children stays alive for 20 more years as opposed to two more years,” Ortiz said. “You want the two of you to be able to grow old together.”

Reach Erin Dostal at [email protected].