Sunscreen is key to protecting against cancer

It has been said that North Idaho has three seasons, July, August and winter. Some years, that's not far wrong. So when our July and August weather finally hits we become sun creatures and spend our extravagantly long days trying to trade that pasty pallor for some shade of tan.

Studies show that although Americans are aware of the damaging effects of exposure to the sun's UV rays, we still believe that a tan looks healthier than pale skill. Go figure but it's true.

Our great-grandmothers shunned tans as proof of a woman's lower status because she surely had to work outside along with men. Fashion demanded pale, protected skin hence the popularity of long sleeves and skirts, lace parasols, gloves, broad brimmed hats and bonnets. Little girls were similarly protected to retain the palest possible skin.

Somewhere in the mid-20th century, those fashion attitudes were discarded in favor of tanned skin as the ideal. Being of Irish descent, I spent my entire childhood trying to match the tanners who seemed to walk once across the beach and be golden brown. Bronze was beautiful.

I, on the other hand, burned, blistered and peeled. Gratefully, I gave up on the whole thing fairly early in life when the warnings of skin cancer began to emerge and things like sunscreen came along. The closest thing to skin protection before that was baby oil, zinc oxide (a nasty white compound that surfers wore on their noses) and Coppertone tanning lotion with ads featuring a puppy pulling on a toddler's bathing suit and exposing the child's tan line.

Like so many things that must be relegated to quaint nostalgia, sun or booth tanned skin needs to be traded in for the smarter approach of our foremothers.

Now that we are at the height of our summer and heading to City Beach, hiking, boating, gardening or just hanging out on our deck, it is time for a reminder about our long denied and beloved sun. It is dangerous. Before we opt to cook our skin, there are some startling statistics we need consider in order to avoid joining some unpleasant numbers.

This year there will be a million new cases of skin cancer with the number climbing each year. It is by far the most common cancer and one of five Americans will develop some form of it during our lives. Factors such as several blistering sunburns as a child or teenager, family history of skin cancer, light skin, hair and eyes, or moles that are irregular in shape or color are red flags.

There are three main types of skin cancer. They are slow-growing basal cell, squamous cell, both of which are highly treatable in early stages. The third is the much more serious melanoma which can spread quickly to other parts of the body and is often deadly. About 9,800 Americans will probably die of skin cancer this year. It is diagnosed more often than lung, colon, breast and prostate cancer combined.

The scariest and most important reason for this reminder is the fact that only one blistering sunburn in childhood can double the chance of developing melanoma, yet 43% of white children under age 12 had at least one sunburn during the past year according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). People of color, though less susceptible, can and do get skin cancer.

Sun damage can be prevented. NCI and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommend that children and adults apply and reapply sunscreen frequently, wear sun protective clothing such as long sleeves and brimmed hats, sunglasses with UV protection, and avoid the hottest part of the day for direct sun exposure. They also say that children under six months old can react badly to sunscreen so should simply not be exposed to the sun. Clothing lines are now available that have UV ratings listed on their merchandise tags.

There are plenty of ways to protect our progeny and ourselves from skin cancer. As it is with all lessons though, the best way to teach them the importance of protecting our skin is by example. We can control their sun exposure when they are little but through education and example they will learn to be sun safe as they begin making their own decisions.

Public attitudes can change. Education and the CDC are partnering to teach skin cancer dangers and prevention to young children. Like bike helmets and child safety seats, once scorned, are now accepted and expected parts of child rearing, sun protection must become second nature. If we protect our own skin the little people who watch us will emulate our behavior and eventually find tanned skin to be uncool. Both CDC and NCI have excellent information on their web sites.

Ladies long ago got the message via fashion and societal pressure that tanned skin was not desirable and it can work again. Enjoy our brief summer and please, as you bask, bask safely. I just hope that corsets and high-buttoned shoes stay right where they are — extinct.