In a press release, Saint Louis University detailed how its Sun Protection Outreach Teaching by Students (SPOTS) program aims to educate children on how to identify and prevent skin cancer. Launched in 2006, the program involves medical students and dermatologists visiting middle schools and high schools across the United States, where they bring awareness to topics such as how blistering sunburns in childhood may increase the risk of developing skin cancer, and how individuals of any skin tone can develop the disease. Experts explained that the program has highlighted the importance of self-screening as melanoma incidence and mortality continues to rise among female patients aged 15 to 29 years and patients with darker skin tones, respectively. The experts recommended that individuals check for skin cancer using the asymmetry, border, color, diameter, and evolving (ABCDE) method—which urges individuals to notify their dermatologists about spots on the skin that are uneven in shape, have irregular borders, have multiple colors, are larger than 6 mm, and are changing shape and size. Currently, the SPOTS program encompasses over 40 medical schools and 600 medical students and has spread awareness about skin cancer to over 40,000 school-age children. 

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