Patient experiences with photo books in monthly skin self-examinations.

Overview

Patients with multiple nevi are at greater risk for developing melanoma but may be unable to assess their skin accurately without an effective tool. At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the standard of practice has been to use a patient educational brochure teaching high-risk patients mole mapping, a procedure of recording moles by drawing them. The photo print book offers patients an improved way of peforming skin self-examination (SSE) in comparison to drawing. The purpose of this study was to determine patient experiences through patient interview and to learn ways to increase patient compliance and understanding of monthly SSE performance using a photo book.