Mercy Hospitals is hosting an upcoming free skin cancer screening.

This event made me think of a recent post, "Health screenings aren't always recommended." It's not that I think screenings aren't helpful, but people need to be aware of the pros and cons of screening.

Yes, there are cons.

Among them, the chance of false positives, which could lead to spending money on unnecessary follow-ups along with subjecting yourself to unnecessary care that carries its own risks.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force develops recommendations for preventive services. They have a somewhat easy-to-navigate guide on screening tests.

Here's what they had to say about skin cancer screening:

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes that the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against routine screening for skin cancer using a total-body skin examination for the early detection of cutaneous melanoma, basal cell cancer or squamous cell skin cancer.

Rationale: Evidence is lacking that skin examination by clinicians is effective in reducing mortality or morbidity from skin cancer. The USPSTF could not determine the benefits and harms of periodic skin examination.

The task force gave this screening an "I" rating, which means "evidence that the [service] is effective is lacking, of poor quality or conflicting and the balance of benefits and harms cannot be determined."

I'm not saying all this to scare you away from the screening but to give you something to keep in mind. You and your doctor know what's best for you.

If you want to go, the skin cancer screening will be from 9 a.m. to noon June 28 at the Florence R. Wheeler Cancer Center, 2215 Truxtun Ave. Call 632-5700 to schedule an appointment.