SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Bill Cunningham led a law adding new training requirements to identify potential skin cancer for chiropractors, nail technicians, cosmetologists and massage therapists.

“We wanted every ‘hands-on’ profession to receive this training so skin cancer can be more easily identified early on,” said Cunningham, a Democrat who represents portions of Chicago and the Southwest Suburbs. “We know that if skin cancer is detected early, it can be dealt with before serious issues arise.”

The legislation came about because of a nail technician who was able to identify carcinoma near their client’s fingernail. The nail tech had seen this in the past with a previous client, and the previous client reported back to the tech that it was indeed a cancerous growth. When the tech notified the new client about an abnormal skin growth, the client went to get it checked out, confirming the growth was cancerous and proceeding with medical treatment from their doctor.

Cunningham’s measure simply adds a training course on abnormal skin growths for some professions that deal with skin in order to receive licensing from the state. With this training, professions dealing with direct skin contact will be in a better position to help identify skin cancer early, staving off the negative effects of skin cancer spreading.

 House Bill 5135 takes effect immediately.