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Surprising Science

This Is One Of Those Ideas You Just Want To Copy/Paste Everywhere – Tattoo Artists Help Save Lives

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“Brazilian beach culture is unique – beautiful tanned bodies, cool tattoos, and… skin cancer.”


Skin cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer in Brazil – more than breast and prostate cancer combined. At the same time, young people think that check-ups are for the elderly, which is why most of them don’t bother to go to the doctor regularly. With global skin cancer rates rising and early detection being crucial for successful treatment, something needs to be done about (young) people getting their skin check-ups.

Enter a business (sunscreen company Sol de Janeiro) and an advertising agency (Ogilvy Brasil) that come up with a really creative solution to the skin cancer check-up problem – train tattoo artists around the country to look for and spot signs of skin cancer.

Simple, cheap, scalable, and doable around the world. So. Cool.

200 tattoo artists were certified initially in a live course and then 250 more enrolled in an online one. 450 tattoo artists average 6 clients a day, which makes 18,900 people checked for skin cancer every week!

Watch this video that shows an awesome bunch of head to toe tattoed artists listen to a doctor explain how to spot signs of skin cancer. Some of the artists’ clients have already benefitted by their newly acquired certification. 

If you are a tattoo artist you can help to prevent skin cancer. Get your diploma at http://tatuadorconsciente.com.br/

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