1. Find some shade, especially during the sun's peak hours (10:00am-4:00pm).
   
2. Always wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher.Use a sunscreen block on problem areas like the nose, ears, neck,lips, cheeks & hands. Utilize sunscreens, sunblocks & lip balm that are water-resistant if you plan to swim or exercise. Sun damage occurs even on cloudy & cold days.
   
3. Wear rash guards with a high SPF rating if you are on the beach or in the water. Cover up with clothing, especially a broad-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses.
4. Avoid tanning parlors and artificial tanning devices. The ultraviolet light from the tanning booths can cause skin cancer and make the skin age prematurely.
   
5. Get vitamin D safely through a healthy diet that includes vitamin supplements.
   
6. Keep newborns out of the sun.  Sunscreens can be used on babies over the age of six months.
   
7. Check with your doctor to be sure about medication interactions with the sun.
   
8. Teach children good sun-protective practices and be a role model, do, as well as teach!
   
9. Examine your skin from head to toe once every month.
   
10. Have a professional medical examination annually. Always get new skin lesions checked by a physician promptly.
11. Avoid tanning and especially -- do not burn!  One blistering sunburn can double your risk of melanoma.
12. Check UV index scale for all your outdoor activities!  Sample UV index numbers around the globe!

• More than 1.5 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States.
  
• One in five Americans and one in three Caucasians will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
  
• Nationally, there are more new cases of skin cancer each year than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung, and colon.
• Non-Melanoma, basal & squamous cell, skin cancers are epidemically on the rise.
• More than 90 percent of all skin cancers are caused by sun exposure, yet fewer than 33 percent of adults, adolescents, and children routinely use sun protection.
  
• The incidence of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is rising faster than that of any other cancer. There are now nearly 8,000 melanoma deaths every year.
  
• One person dies every hour from skin cancer, primarily melanoma.
  
• By 2010, melanoma is projected to rise to one in 50 Americans.
  
• While melanoma is uncommon in African-Americans, Latinos, and Asians, it is most deadly for these populations.
  
• The majority of people diagnosed with melanoma are white men older than age 50.
  
• Skin cancer is the No. 1 cancer in men 50 and older, ahead of prostate, lung and colon cancer.
  
• Middle-aged and older men have the poorest track record for performing monthly skin self exams or regularly visiting a dermatologist. They are the least likely individuals to detect melanoma in its early stages.
  
• Men over age 40 spend the most time outdoors and have the highest annual exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
  
• In the past 30 years, skin cancer has tripled in women younger than 40.
  
• Melanoma is the second most common cancer in women aged 20-29.
  
• One blistering sunburn in childhood more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma later in life.
  
• Regular sun protection throughout childhood can reduce the risk of skin cancer by 80 percent.
  
• It is estimated that 2.3 million teens visit a tanning salon at least once a year.
  
• In the past 20 years there has been more than a 100 percent increase in the cases of pediatric melanoma.
  
• Less than half of all teenagers use sunscreen.
  
• The effects of photo aging (skin aging caused by the sun or tanning machines) can be seen as early as in one's 20s.
  

Information courtesy of The Skin Cancer Foundation, New York, NY

Please, protect your skin!
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