Expanding Our Reach: the Value of Massage Therapists in Melanoma Identification

Massage therapists are uniquely positioned to identify skin cancer. Seminal work in 2013 revealed that 40% of massage therapists do not receive any training in skin cancer identification (Campbell et al. J Cancer Educ 28:158-164, 2013). Limited work has been published assessing optimal training methodologies to close this educational gap. We present the results of a study in which students were given access to a 30-min self-driven web-based learning module designed to teach the high yield points of melanoma demographics and clinical features. The students completed pre- and post-testing, the results of which indicated improved knowledge levels and improved confidence in detecting suspected melanoma. We conclude that a 30-min learning module may be sufficient to improve massage therapists' ability and comfort level in identifying melanoma. The ease of delivery of web-based modules may make this an important approach in ensuring that massage therapists receive basic training in skin cancer identification.