Filing taxes early. Replacing our water filter once a month. Running visual body scans for potentially cancerous moles — they’re the things we know we should do, but mostly don’t. Well, skin-care brand La Roche-Posay is here help with the last one. With its SOS Save Our Skin campaign, the brand has created the most unabashedly adorable reminder for all of us who need a nudge to check our bodies for potentially cancerous skin changes: a video of a wee kitten checking its dalmatian friend’s spots. And though the squee factor is off the charts, giving the message a cute makeover was no easy feat.
See, a full-body scan requires you — or a very trusted friend or MD — to examine some pretty compromising places. (Under the boob, anyone?) But somehow, when a fluffy little feline is standing on a dog’s belly to do so, the chore doesn’t seem that bad. And that’s a very helpful message, particularly for women ages 15 to 29. According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), melanoma is the second most common form of cancer for this age group — and it’s a disease that’s increasing faster for girls than for their male counterparts.
The upshot is that the two most common forms of skin cancer (basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas) are highly curable if detected early. The AAD notes a 98% survival rate for those whose melanoma is detected and treated before it spreads to the lymph nodes. That means that body checks, as easy as they are to forget about, are really a must. And as this kitten and pup show, checking your body for dicey spots is heck of a lot easier than coming to terms with your taxes.
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