SKIN CANCER! MAN UP! BE A LEADER!

If your family, friends and employees love the outdoors like I do, than they, like me, have a destiny with skin cancer. The only difference between us is I'm 60 years old, and likely, most of the people you care about are younger. I've had more sun exposure time, which means, I have skin cancer, Basal Cell Carcinoma and a precancer called Actinic Keratosis. The good news is, I was on top of it, have a great Dermatologist, Dr. David Crosby, and he removed the Basal Cell and treated the AK so it would not develop into cancer. I'm good to go.

So what am I saying when I say, Man Up, (term, not gender driven) Be a Leader, I'm saying your the person responsible for protecting your family, your friends and fellow employees and yourself. How do you do that? Here is one example; at Westmoor, protecting yourself from the sun is a part of our Safety Training Program and has been for 20 plus years, it's right up there with how to operate equipment safely. We explain what the sun does to your skin and that working and playing outdoors predisposes you to a number of skin problems and that protecting yourself early and daily prevents nearly all skin cancers. We supply sunscreen, a SPF 30 or higher, but most importantly, we the Fulltime Staff slop it on, yes we call it slop because we want to emphasize the amount, every morning and make it a point of doing it in front of our fellow employees. The fact that you, the Leader, are slopping on sunscreen in front of the people you are leading, has a profound effect on them doing the same. You, put a hat on, there is a good chance they will too.

Now you the father the mother the friend take that process home and start slopping on the sunscreen in front of them, family and friends, and you know what, they will do the same. You see, safety is contagious if ----, if you, The Leader, LEADS!!!

Of all the cancers that humans can get, skin cancer is the most common. In the US, skin cancer is increasing in all races.
How can we protect ourselves? Sun exposure is the most preventable risk factor for all skin cancers, including melanoma. You can have fun in the sun and decrease your risk of skin cancer.
Here is how to be Sun Smart:
1. Generously apply a broad-spectrum water-resistant sunscreen of a SPF of 30 or more. We say slop it on.
2. Wear protective clothing; hat, sunglasses, long sleeved shirt and pants if possible.
3. Use extra caution near water, snow and sand as they reflect damaging rays from the sun.
4. The suns rays are strongest between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm
5. Make sure you protect your children
6. Supplement your diet with vitamin D.
7. Avoid tanning beds.

To get the latest on sun-protective products that meet the criteria of the American Academy of Dermatology and to learn more about skin cancer go to http://www.aad.org/