May 6, 2006 - Day 4 - Week 5 - Cancer Awareness

If baseball is the American pastime, perhaps today surpassed by NASCAR car racing, cancer is perhaps America’s most talked about and dreaded possibility. Everyone talks about it and no one wants to be told they have cancer; period!

What I did not know until recently is that May is skin cancer awareness month. I have always know that in the Southern Hemisphere countries like Australia there is a serious problem, especially for men, regarding skin cancer.  But, the incidence in America continues to grow. Therefore, let’s get aware!

May 6, 2006, dermatologists around the country are attempting to set the world record for screening men and women for skin cancer.  I did not realize that the Guinness World record for screening is 5600 people in one day, but doctors from Maine to Washington have opened their doors to make it easy for people to access good advice.  And well we should, approximately 11,000 people die every year of skin cancer.

In Australia the school age child grows up with slip, slap and slop as a mantra as significant as brush your teeth.  Adults warn:  when you go outside slip on a long sleeve shirt, slap on a hat, and slop on some sunscreen.  Granted the children in that sun drenched land live on or near the beach and excel in sports where a minimum of clothing is required.  Therefore, you might expect a high incidence of cancer, but when they say that 100% of the men over 70 have some form of skin cancer, we should all pay attention.

Sun block with SPF 30 is the preferred choice, though there are people allergic to the ingredients and seek alternatives, never be outside in the sun between 10-3 pm without some form of protection.  The standard rule in Los Angeles for example, is 15 minutes in the sun and you begin to burn.

In keeping with the monthly theme, ABC News did a little piece on chemicals in our environment.  The reporter commented that we have roughly 80,000 chemicals in our country performing some function or other, with only 2800 of them in common use. She went on to explain that only ½ of these have been tested on humans to assess their toxicity.  A leading medical doctor commented that “chemicals cause toxic injuries” and we should all be aware, and most are, of lead in paint, mercury in fish, or pesticides on vegetables.

Awareness is a learned skill.  We were born, if we are over 39, in an era where reading labels was not necessary, nor analyzing our purchase of pajamas (because of flame retardant chemicals), or worrying about charcoal broiling our steaks.  Helping one another raise our awareness quotient is vital to our long term well being. Thanks to the dermatologists, awareness about the strength of the sun and its impact on our health is being taken seriously.

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