Skin cancer risk growing

By: ADRIENNE POTTER - For The Californian | Tuesday, March 16, 2004 9:08 PM PST ∞

The bad news is that cases of melanoma (skin cancer) have increased 150 percent since 1973. The good news is that hats have come down in price.

The bad news is that sunscreens can actually increase the risk of skin cancer because they mislead people into staying out in the sun longer. The good news is that many shirts come with long sleeves, and some people are smart enough to listen to their skin instead of their sunscreen.

The California Department of Health Services warns that people living in California have a greater risk of melanoma than the national average, but we're not worried. We also have a greater risk of excessively high taxes, which does worry us. The news that Australia ranks first in the world in the number of new annual skin cancer cases, and California has the great honor of ranking second still fails to move our mopeds.

Researchers tell us that the number of sunburns a person gets is directly related to their chances of getting skin cancer, which could scare some people into selling their stock in tanning salons.

Doctors tell us that one in six Americans will develop some form of skin cancer sometime in their life, and that skin cancer accounts for one-third of cancer cases in the United States.

Still not scared? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that the incidence of basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, two other forms of skin cancer, is estimated to be greater than 1 million new cases per year. Maybe a little bit scared? I sure hope so, but before you move to Alaska there are steps that can be taken to prevent skin cancer.

The CDC recommends that all schools and day-care centers have a skin cancer prevention program and that all parents help educate their children about this danger. Kids In Danger recommends that all administrators, teachers and parents set a good example by wearing hats and sunglasses while outside, and by starting programs that reward kids who do the same.

Schools and parents can also help by keeping kids inside when temperatures rise above 100, especially those kids involved in sports programs.

Kids In Danger thinks it would be better to regulate how hats are worn in class, not whether they are worn. Banning hats in classrooms discourages kids from wearing them because of the stigma of the "hat-head look" that occurs when your hat is removed, and the fact that they are easily misplaced or used for Frisbees once they leave your head.

How do we stay safe? Hide under our bed? Wear a thong-kini and lots of sunscreen? Nope: The CDC says just avoid peak sun, seek shade, cover up, wear a hat, wear long-sleeved shirts, wear long pants instead of shorts, use sunscreen, and don't let sunscreen delude you into thinking that you have sun-retardant skin.

Other tips: Don't visit tanning studios, wear wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses, and do take beta-carotene, vitamin B3, and antioxidants such as vitamins C, E, and selenium, all of which can prevent damage caused by ultraviolet rays.

Kids In Danger has requested that Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of schools, institute a statewide skin cancer-prevention program. If you agree, write to him at: California Department of Education, 1430 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814; or e-mail him at joconnell@cde.ca.gov.

Adrienne Potter of Temecula is the founder of Kids In Danger and KidsRead (www.kidsread.net).